A Healing Heart
by streetlightlove
Summary: Dr. Katniss Everdeen DVM is in the last year of her surgical residency at Mockingjay Animal Hospital in Boston. Between her extreme social awkwardness and focusing on her career, Katniss hasn't let anyone new into her life in a long time. Until one fateful night, when an accident brings Peeta Mellark into her hospital, changing everything. Modern Day AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone! This is my very first modern day AU multi-chapter fic and I am super excited to share this story with you.**

** The animal hospital in this story is based off one that I worked at in Boston, Mass so the geography in this fic is based off that as well. **

**I would like to thank The Amazing Court81981 and the Incredible Pookieh for not only their beta skills, but their encouragement and friendship. Please check out their beautiful fics if you haven't already. ILY guys! Also a special thanks to Court for coming up with the name of this story, if not for her the title would have been Vet!Kat. ;) XoXo**

**I would also like to thank the kind and talented Ro_Nordmann for making me a stunning banner and cover art for this story! You are the best! XoXo**

**Just a small disclaimer: This story does take place for the most part in an animal hospital, and sometimes animals will be hurt/sick etc. I promise I will be responsible with my descriptions and will not get graphic. If you have any questions feel free to PM me here or on Tumblr: Streetlightlove1. With, that said I do hope you give this story a chance.**

**I do not own the Hunger Games, but I do think Suzanne Collins is a genius!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The automatic doors have just started to part as Peeta Mellark wedges himself and the seventy pound bundle in his arms through the front entrance of Mockingjay Animal Hospital. Once cleared, he makes a mad dash to the reception area. It is almost ten o'clock at night, and the lobby is nearly empty aside from a few scattered people and the two women at the front desk.

Peeta runs to the first receptionist he sees, a woman with warm brown hair, striking green eyes, and a mouth that curves down slightly into a frown. If he weren't so frantic, Peeta would normally have noted how attractive the woman was.

"Help!" he begs breathlessly.

"What happened?" the receptionist asks as her eyes flit from the chocolate lab wrapped in a blue blanket in his arms up to his face.

"Mmm.. my dog! He got hit by a car!" Peeta spits out quickly and louder than he meant to. The sound of his rushing blood is all he can really hear and his bottom lip quivers. His breathing is as fast paced and shallow as that of the animal he is holding.

The woman at the counter wastes no time. She picks up the phone in front of her and a second later begins to speak into it. Her eyes never leave the occasionally whimpering dog.

"Hey, we have a canine HBC out here. I'm going to move them to triage one." The woman hangs up the phone and quickly hops off her padded stool, walking out from around the counter.

"Are you a client here?" She asks. When Peeta shakes his head, she reaches back to grab a clipboard from the desk before motioning for Peeta to follow her. The woman leads him into a brightly lit room with an examination table, a large metal cabinet, an IV pole and a couple of chairs.

"Put..." The woman pauses and glances at the animal in Peeta's arms.

"Charlie," Peeta croaks out past the ball of emotion in his throat. The woman gives him a sympathetic smile.

"You can put Charlie on the table. Someone from emergency will be in with you momentarily."

As if on cue, just as Peeta places Charlie onto the metal surface, the door on the opposite wall flies open. A very tall man with dark hair and olive skin rushes into the room, followed by a petite woman with short black hair and overly large brown eyes. Both wear dark blue scrubs, but the man has a stethoscope dangling around his neck.

"Well, I'll get out of your way, but when you get a second could you please fill this out?" The woman from the desk hands Peeta the clipboard. He scans the paper and finds it to be a standard information form. He glances back up to the woman and nods. "I hope Charlie will be okay," she says hopefully. Peeta takes note of the name tag attached to the receptionists shirt.

"Thank you, Annie." The receptionist smiles at him once more and exits the room. When Peeta turns back to Charlie, the dark-haired man is examining the dog's mouth, pressing his finger down onto Charlie's gums. The short-haired woman retrieves a bag of fluids from the cabinet and sets it up on the IV pole. The man looks to Peeta.

"Mr...?" He extends his hand, but waits for Peeta to answer.

"Mellark," Peeta answers, taking the man's hand and shaking it briskly before letting go.

" I'm Dr. Hawthorne," the man says, then gestures to the woman who buzzes around the room arranging supplies next to Charlie on the table. "And this is my tech, Johanna." The woman glances up at the sound of her name; she gives Peeta a quick nod before returning to her previous tasks. When Peeta looks back, he watches as Dr. Hawthorne places the end of his stethoscope to different places on Charlie's chest, listening for a few seconds at each spot before pulling the instrument out of his ears and draping it around his neck once again.

"So can you tell me what happened, Mr. Mellark?"

"Well," Peeta begins as he watches Johanna gently lift one of Charlie's front legs, feeling around the front of it with two fingers. "I go to night classes at Mass Art. Charlie comes with me on Tuesdays because he needs to go out a lot, and no one is home to watch him." Peeta squints as he watches Johanna push a strange needle-like contraption into Charlie's leg, drawing back blood. "We were just leaving for the night." Peeta pauses, feeling a sob collect in the back of his throat. "And I don't know what got into him...he never has energy like that...he's never bolted, but he caught me by surprise...ahh." Peeta's head falls forward; his hands squeezing his head, and he clamps his eyes shut, but not before a few tears slip down his cheeks. "He just bolted across Huntington Avenue and that's when..." Peeta trails off, knowing that if he continues anymore he'll lose it.

"What kind of car was it?" the doctor asks.

"Umm." Peeta tries to speak calmly, but he can hear his voice waver. "It was a smaller car, maybe a Civic or a Focus. I don't know. I didn't get a good look."

"They didn't stop?" Dr. Hawthorne asks and Peeta can hear the edge in his voice. He shakes his head at the man.

"Assholes," Johanna bites out. Dr. Hawthorne glares in her direction, but she blatantly ignores him as she attaches Charlie to the IV bag that hangs on the pole.

"How old is Charlie?" the doctor asks, shining a light into the animal's eyes.

"Lucky number thirteen," Peeta says with a sardonic snort. He catches the doctor and the tech halting their actions to give each other knowing glances.

"Well, Mr. Mellark." Dr. Hawthorne pauses to peek at the thermometer Johanna has just extracted from the dog's rear end. He nods to her before continuing."I can tell you that Charlie has suffered quite a few injuries as a result of this accident, but what concerns me most is that he's in shock. We are going to need to stabilize him first, and then we can figure out the true extent of his injuries. We are going to bring him to the ICU; you are free to wait in the lobby or you can go home and we can call you. Just make sure you fill out that information sheet before you leave." He gestures towards the clipboard gripped tightly in Peeta's hand.

"Is he going to live?" Peeta asks frantically, holding his breath as he waits for the answer. Dr. Hawthorne sighs as his eyes soften.

"Let's just get him through this crisis, and then we'll talk." Peeta's hands begin to shake and lightheadedness engulfs him at the vague statement.

Less than a minute later, the doctor and his tech have taken Charlie out the back door, and Peeta finds himself wandering back into the waiting area like a lost puppy. When he passes the front desk, he catches Annie's eye. She gives him a reassuring smile and he nods a silent 'thank you' back for her efforts.

Peeta entertains the notion of driving all the way back home to Salem for less than a second, but ends up plopping down onto a bench. He's going to stay here as long as he has to, as long as it takes to ensure Charlie is alright. He glances around his immediate vicinity. The lobby is completely empty, save for Annie and the other woman at the front desk. For the first time since the accident, Peeta buries his head in his hands and finally allows the tears to fall.

* * *

Katniss Everdeen has been at work since 4 am. Being a surgical resident, she is on call half the week, and early this morning, she was called in for an emergency surgery on a Great Dane with bloat. She managed a nap in her office for about an hour, but the early morning sunlight that breaks through her window splashes onto her face and wakes her. She groans out loud when she sees the clock. 7:15 am. Her next shift starts at eight.

She meanders to the women's locker room on her floor, toothbrush and paste in hand. Once at the sink, she turns on the cold water. She lets it pool in her hands then splashes it onto her face, letting the shock of the frigid water awaken her addled brain. She glances at herself in the mirror, noting the dark bags under her gray eyes, and her normally tanned complexion looking pale. Her black, ramshackled braid, held together by a worn rubber band, hangs unceremoniously over her left shoulder.

"Just eight more months, Everdeen, and then you'll be a staff surgeon. No more 'on-call' bullshit. You can do this." Katniss finishes her pep talk by splashing a second palmful of cold water onto her face before brushing her teeth and heading downstairs to start her shift.

On the way, Katniss walks past the Head of Surgery's office. She glances inside to see him face down on his own desk, snoring. She has not seen him all night and wonders how long he has been here. The convenience store-sized container of Atomic Fireballs he keeps on his desk catches her eye, she walks into his office and snatches two from the red, plastic bin before turning to leave.

"Hey, Sweetheart." She hears his groggy salutation from behind her and turns back towards the man.

"Haymitch, don't tell me that desk is comfier than your bed at home." She laments to herself how she would give anything to be in her own bed right now. Her boss grunts at her.

He gestures for her to leave. "Get to work." She takes the hint, popping a red candy ball into her mouth as she heads out the door.

The surgery office is empty when Katniss arrives, but just like every morning, there is a box of Dunkin Donuts on the desk. She isn't sure who brings them, but they are always there, and on mornings like this they're a god sent. She drops into a worn office chair and chooses her breakfast. She spits the no-longer-hot Fireball into the trash barrel as she picks up a pink-frosted cake donut covered with rainbow sprinkles and bites into it. Half the donut is already gone when she hears someone clear their throat behind her. She swivels to find Gale Hawthorne leaning against the door frame, holding a large manila envelope, his eyes looking just as tired as hers.

"I can't believe you're still here, Hawthorne. What is it going on for you now? Eighteen hours?"

"God, Catnip, don't remind me," he groans. Katniss inwardly grimaces at the nickname given to her by Gale while they were both attending Tufts University.

Katniss remembers the shit her peers would give her whenever she worked with live animals. Anytime a cat came into the clinic, it would assault her affectionately, which led Gale to liken her to the feline stimulant. The name stuck, so much so that address labels attached to Tufts mailings still bear the nickname in quotes between her first and last name.

"So what do you want, Hawthorne?" she asks after snapping out of her reverie.

"Well." He pushes himself off of the doorframe and comes to sit in the chair next to her. "I have a case for you. Thirteen-year-old lab, hit by car last night. Has a pretty nasty pelvis fracture on the body of the illium. The dog also has a torn CCL, but the pelvis obviously needs to be dealt with now. I already spoke with the owner about the possibility of surgery and he was on board, and I already spoke with Abernathy. He said he'd scrub in with you, so if you want it, it's yours."

Katniss can't keep from squealing. Pelvic surgeries were not too common and were almost always done by staff surgeons. It's nearly impossible for Katniss or the other resident to grab a case of their own. Normally the emergency room vets would go straight to a staff surgeon since the residents would need one to scrub in with them anyways. So for Gale to have gone the extra mile, she is truly appreciative .

"Of course I want it, Gale! Thank you," she cries, her voice high-pitched with gratitude.

"Well, I need a favor in return." Katniss narrows her eyes in his direction, waiting for him to continue. "I'm exhausted and we are slammed in emergency. Can you go out and talk to the owner about the surgery, explain the situation to him, since you'll be the surgeon working on his dog? If he gives the okay, Abernathy says we can do it in a couple of hours."

Katniss's least favorite part of the job is talking to clients. Part of the reason she is so good with animals is because they don't expect her to engage in conversation. Interaction has never been Katniss's strong suit. Most of the time her words come out sounding confused and clumsy. Sure, she knows that surgery consults are part of the job—with patients come their humans—but it still doesn't change her complete disdain for forced social activity. Put Katniss in front of an anesthetized animal with a scalpel and she is flawless; put her in a room with people she doesn't know, and she completely shuts down.

Katniss lets out a whine, her mouth turning down into a pout. He smirks at the display and she sighs in defeat.

"Give me the goods." Katniss extends her hand towards her former classmate. Gale smiles victoriously before placing the manilla envelope into her hands.

"The dog's name is Charlie. Those are his x-rays and his ward record. The owner's last name is Mellark— blond guy about our age. He's out in the waiting room"

"Okay." Katniss nods, levering herself out of the chair. She pulls out the x-rays and places them on the viewer in the office. She cocks her head as she examines the pictures of the dog's pelvis.

"Okay, well if you got this I'll see you later, Catnip."

"See you later, Gale," she murmurs absentmindedly, still mesmerized by the radiograph in front of her. "And thanks again." If Gale says anything else, Katniss doesn't notice.

* * *

After going through all the information she has, Katniss reluctantly makes her way to the lobby. Once within sight of the waiting area, she scans the people present. She immediately makes eye contact with a brutish looking blond. To her chagrin, he predatorily stares back at her. Her pulse speeds up, and it is not until she sees the German shepherd lying at his feet that she begins to calm down.

She shifts her eyes away quickly and begins to scan the room once again. That's when she sees a very attractive, yet very drowsy blond staring off into the nothingness in front of him. He seems to be close in age to her and he is not accompanied by an animal, so she takes a chance and approaches the man.

She is only a few feet away, and he still hasn't acknowledged her presence. He appears to be completely in his own head. Starting a conversation with a stranger has always been hard for Katniss, and she feels her breathing pick up slightly and her fingertips tingle. She unconsciously clears her throat.

"Mr. Mellark?" she squeaks out, mentally chastising herself for not keeping her cool. The man shakes out of his stare, blinking his eyes rapidly for a brief moment before looking up. Katniss's breath catches in her throat when she find herself gazing into pools of blue so deep she could get lost in them.

"Yes?" The man quirks an eyebrow at her when she doesn't answer him.

_Stop staring!_ Her mind screams, causing her eyes to snap to the floor.

"Ah." Katniss begins to feel her face burn with embarrassment. "Every damn time," she mumbles quietly to herself.

"Is Charlie okay?" She hears the acute panic in his voice.

_Great, Katniss, now he thinks his dog is dead._ She shakes her head clear before continuing.

"Yes, I'm sorry, Charlie is fine...he's stable...ah." A nervous chuckle escapes her. "Let me start again." She extends her hand. " -Mr. Mellark, I'm Dr. Everdeen. I'm a surgical resident here, and I've been assigned to Charlie's case. I wanted to speak to you about Charlie's condition and about the possibility of surgery." Katniss exhales a shallow breath. The man reaches out, taking her hand in his. It's warm and feels good wrapped around her significantly smaller one.

He smiles warmly at her. "Peeta."

"What?" Katniss, squints her eyes in confusion, unable to determine if her own anxiety is making it hard to decipher words.

"My name...it's Peeta." Katniss doesn't respond right away, making sure she comprehended what he was trying to tell her.

"Peeta." She tests the name out, never having heard it before. She likes the way her tongue clicks the roof of her mouth when she says it. "Well, Peeta, are you up for going over some treatment options for Charlie?" He nods.

Katniss glances around, noticing they are the only ones in this section of the waiting area, so she decides to sit down next to him rather than find an empty room to speak in. She begins to discuss the nature of Charlie's fracture and how it would benefit from a bone plate. She explains the surgery, healing time and prognosis. The whole time Peeta's overwrought eyes are on her, completely nervous by what she's detailing to him. Normally this sort of attention would make her anxious and want to flee. But in this case, each time she glances up and her eyes meet the blue of his, she is fighting a smile, and her cheeks burn.

"Upon examination, along with the fracture to his pelvis, Charlie, also appears to have a partially torn CCL."

"Oh god, what's that?" The same panic she heard in Peeta's voice earlier has returned. She chastises herself for using too much medical lingo, her lack of client contact making her rusty.

"Oh, it's nothing, I mean... in humans, it's known as a torn ACL." She watches the understanding flood his eyes.

"Ahh, like what Tom Brady had?" She tries but fails to suppress the chuckle that builds up in her throat because most guys seem to reference the Patriots quarterback in this situation.

"Yes, exactly!" Katniss watches as his confusion from her laughter turns into a triumphant grin, and she can't help smiling along with him. "This is of course minor in comparison to the pelvis injury so we can discuss treatment options for that once he has recovered."

"And you'll be the surgeon?" Peeta's question seems to demand reassurance, and Katniss is confused by the warmth it elicits in her gut.

"Yes, well, I will, along with the head of surgery, Dr. Abernathy. He'll be scrubbing in with me because I'm a..."

"Good, I'm glad it's you." Peeta has a far-off stare as he talks. He nods to himself before looking back to Katniss. "You seem to know what you're doing, and I..." Katniss watches as Peeta sucks in a shaky breath. "Charlie means a great deal to me, and I need to make sure he's going to be okay." Katniss can see the tears glistening in his bloodshot eyes but easily finds herself becoming distracted by his eyelashes as he speaks. They are dark gold and longer than any she's ever seen. A small voice from behind them breaks her concentration.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Kat ." Katniss turns to see the small mocha-skinned girl from the front desk.

"No problem, Rue." Katniss smiles, waiting for her to continue.

"Surgery just called and said they need you back there when you're done here." Rue nods to both Katniss and Peeta, and then scurries back to the desk.

"Thanks," Katniss calls out after her then turns back to Peeta. "So I think that's about it, unless you have any questions we can start the..."

"Kat?" Peeta inquires with a lopsided grin. "Convenient name for a vet, wouldn't you say?" His eyes have lit up for the first time since their conversation began. Katniss rolls her eyes and smiles in spite of herself.

"Its a nickname" she grumbles while jokingly narrowing her eyes at him.

"Ah." he says slowly, nodding in understanding. His face knits in concentration as he rubs a finger over the bit of stubble under his bottom lip. "Katherine?" Katniss shakes her head. "Kathleen?"

"Nope."

"Katrina." Another shake of her head.

"Katarina." Katniss snorts out a laugh.

"No." Peeta cocks his head at her, looking completely perplexed. The look on his face is so endearing that Katniss decides to throw him a bone. "It's Katniss."

Peeta nods in acceptance, but the levity of the moment passes quickly, and Katniss can see his earlier anxiety return in full force. Peeta scrubs his face with his hands.

"Sooo," Katniss draws out the word longer than she meant to, wishing she had a way to bring back the man's carefree nature, from moments ago. "If everything sounds good to you, I'll just need you to sign this consent form, and we can get Charlie in surgery in the next couple of hours." Peeta clears his throat, taking the piece of paper from her. Katniss watches his mouth move as he silently reads the form. When he's done, he regards her once again, the earlier playfulness completely gone.

"Do you have a pen?" he asks. Katniss reaches into the pocket of her light blue scrub top, retrieving a black ball point pen. She hands it to him, watching as he inks his signature at the bottom of the page. Peeta hands her back the pen and paper, which she takes before standing up.

"And that should do it. Someone will be in touch with you once the surgery is over and Charlie has woken up." Peeta nods, the lack of sleep, causing his lids to hang heavy over his eyes.

"Thank you, Dr. Everdeen." He smiles kindly at her. Katniss attempts a reassuring smile before turning away. She only gets a few feet away when something spins her back around.

"Peeta," she calls to him. He glances up from his phone that he now has in his hand. "Charlie is going to be fine, I promise." The relieved elation that her words bring to Peeta's face alone seems to be worth making the promise. It's not until she turns around that she realizes what she has actually vowed to do, and it makes her stomach sink.

A thirteen-year-old dog who has been hit by a car. The odds aren't exactly in his favor.

_Why did I do that? _she scolds herself.

Katniss never makes promises like that to anyone. She won't even give that kind of reassurance to a basic neuter. But Katniss saw the shake in his hand, the worry in his voice and the tears in his eyes when she spoke to him about Charlie's condition. She could see how much he loved his dog, and Katniss felt compelled to give him something.

She just hopes she can deliver.

* * *

**Thank you so much for reading! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey Everyone! I am so excited by the reception this story has gotten so far. Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, followed and favorited this. You guys are so awesome!**

**A special thanks to my incredible beta's Court81981 and Pookieh - you guys help me more than you know!**

**And with that... Enjoy!**

* * *

Haymitch is standing by the door that leads from the waiting room to the hospital when Katniss approaches. He stares at her incredulously, his arms crossed. She ignores him, tugging her badge out from around her neck and swiping the black panel on the wall so the door in front of her unlocks. She has just pulled it open when he speaks.

"So is this what I pay you for? To fraternize with the clients?"

Katniss purposely rolls her eyes but can't help the slight reddening of her cheeks. "You pay me shit," she retorts without looking at him as she walks through the door. Her boss doesn't follow her, but she can hear him laughing loudly behind her.

"You got me there, Sweetheart," he replies, laughing.

Katniss heads back to surgery, all the while trying to collect her thoughts from her encounter with Peeta. She, of course, was her typical socially awkward self. Recalling her bumbled introduction makes the back of her neck heat up and her stomach contents curdle. Then there was the other stuff. Was she flirting with him? He _was _attractive, that was for sure, with his messy blond hair, intensely blue eyes and warm smile on what appear to be kissably soft lips.

_Katniss! _She reprimands herself for letting her thoughts drift there. _You are not looking to date anyone. You are about to do surgery on his dog for God's sake. And he probably has a girlfriend, or better yet a wife. _

Katniss knows she is right on all three counts, but that doesn't stop her from glancing down at the hand that Peeta held in his briefly. She shakes her head disapprovingly. _Head in the game, Everdeen! _

Katniss walks into the surgery office, unintentionally interrupting an intimate conversation between Annie and Dr. Odair. Annie looks up and greets Katniss with a warm smile while the staff surgeon regards her with an overly dramatic glower.

"Hey Kat, how's your day so far?" Annie inquires.

"So far so good, but can you tell me why Finnick here is giving me stink eye?" She glances at the uncomfortably good-looking doctor to Annie's right. Annie chuckles and shakes her head, but it is Finnick who responds to her question.

"Well, Kitty Kat, I hear residents are now stealing perfectly good surgeries away from staff surgeons. I have half a mind to go to the owner and let them know they made a grave mistake."

Katniss rolls her eyes and snorts. "I don't think you're his type." Finnick scoffs at her assessment.

The good-looking doctor is somewhat of a celebrity at the hospital; besides being a favorite amongst females—as well as some of the male clientele—a couple of years back he published a series of books about his experiences being a veterinarian. The books and a few television spots on Animal Planet shot him to veterinary fame, much to the hospital's delight, who always promote the doctor every chance they get. Katniss has read the series of three books. She thought he came across as pretentious, and even though she and Finnick are actually very close friends, it doesn't change her opinion that he can be a douche.

Still, she has observed on many occasions, women in low-cut shirts and short skirts with a limping dog and a book by Finnick N. Odair in hand, ready for him to sign during their surgery consult. She wonders sometimes how Annie can stand it. If Katniss wasn't sure that in Finnick's eyes, the sun did not rise till Annie awoke in the morning to coax it along, she might have been tempted to kick his ass.

"Who are you two talking about?" Annie asks in her syrupy sweet tone, breaking up the stare down between the two doctors.

"Dog with a pelvis fracture, came in last night through emergency," Katniss relays, glaring at Finnick.

"Oh Charlie! Peeta's dog?" Annie practically squeals it out, the doctors turn to study the emerald-eyed woman. Katniss can't help but feel a strange sting that Annie knows Peeta by first name coupled with an excitement of hearing that name again. Both feelings confuse her. "He's very good looking, isn't he?" Katniss instantly feels heat creep up her neck onto her cheeks at Annie's question.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Finnick interjects. "I am not even going to entertain the idea that this 'Peeta' person is 'very good looking', but what interests me—" Suddenly he pushes his office chair over towards Katniss, stopping with only a few inches to spare. He tilts his head observing her for a moment. "—is that you agree with Annie, don't you Kat?"

Katniss instantly scowls at the doctor. "Back the fuck up, Odair." But the doctor doesn't budge; instead he smirks while continuing to study the young surgeon in front of him.

"I didn't even know you liked boys, Kitty Kat."

Katniss rolls her eyes at him. "Not when they are assholes like you." She tries to say it with as much contempt as possible, but a smile begins to crack through her grimace as Finnick grabs his chest, feigning heartbreak at her words.

"So if this...'Peeta,'" he says with accompanying air quotes, "is as good looking as my wife says and the blush on your cheeks indicates it as well then why have you not jumped on that like a pogo stick?"

Katniss groans out loud at the doctor's crudeness. "Because, Finnick, I met the guy five fucking minutes ago, and I'm about to cut open his geriatric dog, and..."

"Ahh," Finnick interrupts. "Save the guy's dog, endear yourself to him and then ride him like a roller coaster." Both women just stare at Finnick in disgust.

"Finn, I think you should have written a book of lame sexual innuendoes instead. It would have been a big hit," Katniss counters sarcastically while Annie giggles at her side. "I have no time or interest in dating anyone now, not between working nearly 60 hours a week and trying to convince Abernathy to give me a staff position. I just... it isn't going to work out, no matter how attractive the guy is."

Finnick snorts at her. "Whatever you say, Kat." He shakes his head before sharing a look with his wife, who just shrugs in response.

"Well, if this is all I was called in here for I..."

"Surgery theft is a major issue," Finnick declares matter-of-factly. Katniss looks at him unimpressed and puts her hand in a fist, wagging it in front of her in an obscene gesture, which garners a raised eyebrow from the doctor. Katniss jumps out of her chair.

"I have to go talk to Hawthorne before he leaves. Page me if you need me," she calls behind her as she exits the office. Just as she crosses the threshold, she hears Annie mutter to Finnick, "She totally likes him."

Katniss yells in frustration, eliciting the snickers of her coworkers behind her.

* * *

Katniss enters the emergency services part of the hospital. She walks down the long hallway, passing the heavy metal doors that lead to the different levels of ICU's on her left. She heads all the way down to the end, entering the last office on her right.

As she walks in, she has to bite back laughter when she sees Johanna Mason sprawled out in an office chair, her head rolled back, her arms dangling over the sides, her eyes shut and her mouth set in an easy smile. Johanna's foot is raised, her heel propped up against Gale's chest while the doctor stands leaning against his desk, kneading her arch roughly, the tip of his tongue sticking out while he concentrates.

Johanna and Gale are Katniss's best friends, in and out of the hospital, and they also happen to be in love with each other. The problem is that both of them are too stubborn to be the first to admit it. Instead they claim they are not ready to commit, that they both want to play the field, yet the only plays they ever seem to make are on each other. Katniss rolls her eyes when she thinks of all the panicked phone calls the pair direct at her when they think the other one has become interested in someone else. Katniss—who has no patience for their foolishness—usually screams at them to get over themselves and admit they are dating already.

A moan spills from Johanna's lips, snapping Katniss back to the present. She glances up at Gale, who has a proud look on his face, as he rams his thumb deeply into the same spot on her foot, extracting more satisfied noises.

"So what's going on in here?" Katniss asks suggestively. Her voice startles Gale, who drops the foot from his hands.

"Well, I was getting a foot rub from McDreamy here before you interrupted." Johanna keeps nudging her foot up towards Gale, who reluctantly takes it once again.

"Oh God, gross, don't call him that," Katniss responds, her face scrunched up in disgust. Gale smirks before he begins rubbing Johanna again.

"I don't understand why _I'm_ not the one getting a foot massage," Gale whines. "I'm the _doctor_ and you're the _tech." _

Johanna looks at him like he just told her the sky was green. "Easy, Hawthorne, because I'm smarter than you," Johanna challenges.

"How so?" Gale takes the bait, causing Katniss to shake her head at him.

"Because..." Johanna sits herself up, pulling back her legs so she can sit cross-legged in the chair. "I'm not the one with eighty-thousand in student loans." She finishes by giving him her patented 'you're dumb as fuck' face. Gale glares at her, dejectedly crossing his arms across his chest. Johanna sticks out her foot, tapping Gale on the thigh.

"But don't worry, at least you aren't like Brainless over here" She gestures at Katniss with her thumb. "Getting paid less than me to work bullshit hours." Katniss scowls, which causes a Cheshire cat-like grin to spread across Johanna's face. Katniss rolls her eyes again.

"What are you even doing here, Johanna? Didn't you work the overnight?"

The small woman looks annoyed. "Someone called out_ again_, I said I'd take an extra shift. At least I got to go home and get _some_ sleep, Gale's been here straight through." The actual look of genuine concern on her friend's face as she stares at Gale tugs at Katniss's heart.

"It's alright," Gale says scrubbing his face with both hands. "Once Beetee gets here I'm going home to sleep for days."

"Well before that happens, can we go over the Mellark case?" Katniss interjects. Gale nods, pushing himself off the desk and gesturing for the two women to follow him across the hall.

* * *

The three of them stand outside the large cage in ICU. The constant ticking of the IV fluids mingles with Charlie's steady breathing as he sleeps off his heavy dose of pain medication. Katniss watches the chocolate lab's chest rise and fall with each deep breath, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. His dark coat hides most of the bruises and lacerations caused by the accident, and he looks oddly peaceful given his current state. Katniss opens the cage and crouches down in front of the dog. Charlie's nose twitches, but otherwise he doesn't acknowledge her presence.

Katniss begins absentmindedly rubbing Charlie's head affectionately while Gale rattles off the dog's vitals and how his preoperative blood work looks. Katniss listens closely, taking all the information in, when Gale stops speaking she leans in close to Charlie's head.

"I had a nice talk with your dad just a little while ago," she whispers. "He's very worried about you, and from what I could tell he seems like a great guy, so how about I make you a deal? You don't do anything unexpected on that surgery table, and I will do all I can to make sure you get to go home with Peeta soon." She pats him twice then stands back up. She turns to find Johanna and Gale staring at her oddly.

"What?" Katniss asks, looking around self-consciously.

"Oh nothing, Kat." Johanna smirks. "Just listening in on your little pep talk with your patient here." She gestures at the sleeping dog then scratches her temple with a finger. "Is that a new thing you're doing now with all your patients, or is that only for the ones with attractive owners?" She looks so extremely pleased with herself as she grins. Katniss can feel her cheeks sting with embarrassment.

"What the fuck ever Mason," Katniss counters, waving them both off, trying to make a quick exit. As soon as she gets to the door, she remembers why she came. She spins, glancing at Gale who still appears way too amused. Katniss stomps her foot, putting her hands on her waist, puffing air out of her mouth.

"Will you stop it!" she hisses at him. "I need one of your ICU techs to scrub in with me because of Charlie's age and condition."

Gale nods in agreement. "Johanna can go."

Johanna's smirk widens. "Don't worry Katniss, I'll take extra good care of Blondie's dog for you so you can play the hero."

"Oh god," Katniss mumbles under her breath as she turns and storms out the door.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Katniss and Dr. Abernathy stand at the large sink in surgery, elbow deep in foamy scrub soap. Katniss looks through the glass into the operating room. Johanna, along with two other surgery technicians, already have Charlie shaved and prepped. The machines that will be monitoring him during the procedure are already attached and making their benign beeps and clicks, indicating the patient is stable. The sound calms Katniss.

Once both doctors are gowned and gloved, they walk to the table Charlie lies on. Condensation from his steady breaths fogs up the breathing tube coming out of his mouth. Before they start, Katniss looks up to find Haymitch regarding her curiously.

"Looking a bit nervous there, Sweetheart." And even though he's right, Katniss can't help wondering how he can tell with her face covered in a surgery mask. Katniss shrugs in response, not wanting to get into her fears of operating on an older dog; she wants to look confident.

"I'm fine," she mumbles.

Once the surgery begins, Katniss feels herself relax. This is what she is good at, not being a compassionate friend or a social butterfly, but this. Katniss is a natural surgeon: her cuts are clean, her knowledge of anatomy incomparable. Her hands are always steady in the operating room, no matter what.

An incessant beeping that Katniss has all but blocked out as she examines the fractured illum of Charlie's hip, starts tugging at the forefront of her brain. She pulls her eyes from the anesthetized dog, looking up to Haymitch, who has been silently observing her work, a proud glint in his eye. He seems to notice the intruding sound a moment later. Katniss quickly looks over at an intensely focused Johanna, who is monitoring the anesthesia and blood pressure machines. When the machine's chirping doesn't cease, Katniss begins to worry.

"What's going on Jo?" Katniss tries to keep the panic out of her voice. It is not uncommon for anesthesia to cause complications during surgery, but as is the case with older dogs, Charlie in particular, routine issues can quickly become life or death.

"BP was dropping, heart rate was dropping. I already lowered the Iso, and when that didn't work, I administered epinephrine; he's stable now, but it's still lower than I would like. You're going to have to wrap this up quickly because I need to wake up this dog soon." The authoritative tone to Johanna's voice captures Katniss's attention. She turns back to her opened patient quickly, inhaling a deep shaky breath.

"It's alright," Haymitch speaks up, his voice is gruff but oddly calming. "He's stable. You just have to place the plate now. You're doing fine." Katniss exhales finally, nods in appreciation and continues. Haymitch spends the rest of the time regaling the room with his past surgery bloopers. The man can tell one hell of a story, and soon everyone besides Katniss is chuckling along to his tales—although she too eventually cracks a smile as she finishes up the last stitches on Charlie's pelvis.

Katniss exhales a shaky breath as she pulls off her gown, mask, cap and gloves. She follows Johanna and Charlie back to ICU. She always monitors her patients as the effects of the anesthesia wears off. A tech could easily do it for her, but she feels a sense of responsibility when it comes to an animal she's personally worked on, and she wants to see them through the whole ordeal. With Charlie, however, Katniss doesn't think she'll be able to breathe right until he is awake.

As Charlie lays sideways in his recovery cage, covered in warm blankets, his vitals return to normal. He begins to lift his head, and he looks around. His unfocused glassy, brown eyes glance in the direction of the anxious surgeon, allowing Katniss to to finally feel some relief.

"Can someone get me his dad's number so I can give him a call?" Katniss asks, continuing to smile warmly at the groggy chocolate lab in front of her.

She hears Johanna pick up the phone behind her, mumbling quietly to whoever is on the other line, then hangs up.

"Rue says Blondie never left, and he's out sleeping in his car. Rue called his cell, but he didn't answer. You want her to go out and get him for you?" She turns to see the devious smirk on Johanna's face.

"No, I'll go out there and talk to him." Katniss gets up, feeling suddenly nervous.

"Oh, of course you will."

"Fuck you, Mason."

All Katniss can hear is Johanna's cat calls as she leaves the room.

* * *

"Hey Rue, which car belongs to Charlie Mellark's owner?" Rue looks up from her computer, pulling a Post-It note off her monitor and handing it to Katniss.

"Blue Jeep Wrangler. Here's the licence plate if there are more than one."

"Thanks!" Katniss yells with a wave as she walks out the front door.

There appears to be only one blue Jeep, and it is parked on the side of the building. Katniss crumbles the yellow piece of paper and shoves it into the pocket of her scrub shirt as she approaches the car.

She peers in the driver's side window, which is open about a crack, to see the blond she spoke to earlier lying across the front seats. He faces the dash, a bunched up hoodie acting as a pillow for his head, which rests on the passenger seat. His bent knees rest just under the steering wheel. He looks peaceful, and she almost hates to wake him up when she thinks of how exhausted he looked earlier this morning. After some debate she decides he'd want to know about Charlie's status right away. She taps lightly on the glass.

"Mr. Mellark," she calls in through the open window. "Peeta," she adds sheepishly.

Peeta awakens from his slumber with a jolt. He looks around confused for a moment, bits of his shaggy hair plastered to his forehead. His half-opened eyes finally focus on Katniss, widening significantly when they do. He scrambles to get up, pushing himself into the driver's seat, flinging the door open and jumping out of the car.

Peeta's face drains of color as he looks at her. He points to her shirt.

"Is tha..." The rest of his words die in his throat. Katniss looks down and for the first time notices the rather large, dried blood stains. She is completely mortified.

For whatever reason, the powers that be at Mockingjay decided that each section of the hospital should have color-coordinated scrubs. Emergency got dark blue, the clinic got maroon and surgery was given light blue. This resulted in almost all of the light blue scrubs in the building having ugly brown stains permanently tattooed on the cloth after repeatedly unsuccessful attempts to wash them out. Before Katniss can speak, Peeta finds his voice again.

"Is that...? Is Charlie...dead?" His blue eyes are large saucers of panic. Katniss throws her hands up in front of her trying to halt him from his current train of thought.

"No...no... oh God no, this.." She points to her top. " This is nothing. This isn't even from your dog." Peeta quirks an eyebrow at her as she bumbles her words. "Ahh... Charlie is fine. He just woke up a few minutes ago. The surgery went well." Peeta's face lights up at her words. "He had a little trouble maintaining his blood pressure." Peeta's face falls slightly at the news. "But like I said... he's awake... you should be able to visit him in an hour or so once the anesthesia..." She pauses to watch as his head rolls back and he exhales a loud sigh of relief. "...wears off," she finishes as Peeta slumps back into the driver's seat, his relief deflating him.

"Thank God," he says, releasing a shaky breath through pursed lips. He looks up at Katniss. "Thank you so much." He emphasizes each word with a slight shake of his head and a long blink.

Now that he knows Charlie is alright, she can see just how incredibly tired Peeta is. His eyes almost look bruised, the circles are so dark underneath. His skin is pale. His hair is in disarray and slightly greasy. He looks a mess—but still, an attractive mess, Katniss thinks before silently scolding herself.

"You must be exhausted," she states lamely. Peeta rubs the back of his neck with his hand, peeking up at her through golden eyelashes.

"Yeah," he replies, his voice gravelly.

"Hungry, too, I bet."

"Starving!" he agrees as his eyes flutter shut and he leans against the frame of the car door.

Katniss pulls her cellphone out of her pocket, glancing at the time. She knows she has nothing to do until later in the day. She bites her bottom lip trying to decide if she actually should do what she's thinking of doing.

_Fuck it!_

Katniss closes the distance between them, finding an unusual amount of courage.

"Slide over," she says to him, causing his eyes to fly open and look at her curiously.

"Huh?" His response causes her to huff out a breath.

"I said slide over. You are in no condition to drive so I'm taking you somewhere to get food in you." Peeta continues to stare at her dumbfounded. "You don't want to be a mess when you finally see Charlie, right?"

A slow lazy smile curves Peeta's lips up, causing something to flutter in Katniss's gut.

"No, I suppose not."

"Well then..." She begins shooing him over with her hands. Peeta finally complies, sliding himself over to the passenger side. Katniss jumps into the driver's seat, feeling around on the side, pulling levers to adjust it to her shorter height.

"So, where are you taking me, Dr. Everdeen?" Peeta inquires playfully.

"Don't worry, I know just the place." Katniss shifts the car into drive.

* * *

**Thank you so much for reading! **

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	3. Chapter 3

**Hi everyone! Thanks so much for all the follows, favorites and reviews you have given this story! You are all spectacular!**

**A special thanks to my absolutely amazing beta's: Court81981 and Pookieh... You two are the best! XOXO**

**Also for those of you that don't know - Finnick is based almost entirely on a surgeon that I worked with - Wrote the books, had women throw themselves at him all the time, etc! I was in the room for some of those appointments - They were epic! Haha!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Peeta finds himself sitting at a Dunkin Donuts a couple of blocks away from the hospital, watching as the young surgeon systematically devours a blueberry muffin slathered with cream cheese. Peeta looks down at his abandoned half-eaten apple cinnamon muffin with a grimace. What he has eaten sits heavy in his stomach and the sips he takes of his Earl Grey tea does little to settle it. Regardless as to how he feels about the food, he can't keep from watching Katniss eat. Every bite elicits a small sigh, like she has not seen food in a long time, as if she is worshiping each and every morsel.

"So half hazelnut, half hot chocolate?" Peeta remarks, gesturing at the styrofoam cup in front of Katniss. "That doesn't sound half bad." She hastily swallows the piece of muffin in her mouth before answering.

"I don't normally drink coffee," she confesses. "It's bitter no matter how much sugar I put in it. I usually just get straight-up hot chocolate, but, besides a short nap, I've been up since three, so I needed a little bit more. Its pretty tasty though and it does the job." She takes a sip. "The problem is places with those hoity-toity espresso contraptions can't make this for you," she says with a twist of her mouth. "So you need a place like Dunks that has regular hot chocolate machines." She taps on the side of her cup, takes another sip and then returns to her muffin.

"Well lucky for you there's a Dunkin Donuts on every corner." Peeta smiles, and she in turn raises her cup to him.

"So, what do you do, Peeta?" she asks then picks up her last chunk of muffin and pops it into her mouth.

"I...um own one of those places with a hoity-toity espresso contraption." Peeta bites back a smile as he watches Katniss's mouth drop open, the color draining from her face. "Coffee shop/bakery actually." Katniss's eyes widen as she looks down at Peeta's half-eaten muffin. She throws her head back and groans.

"And I brought you _here_? Oh God!" She throws her face down in her hands. "Typical Katniss thing to do," she mumbles to herself. Peeta finds the whole scene endearing. He reaches out, gently wrapping his fingers around her small wrist and pulls her hand away from her face. When Katniss glances up at him, mortification still obvious by her expression Peeta can't help cracking a smile.

"It's ok, really. I'm enjoying the company. That's the first time I've really smiled in days, I'm pretty sure." And he means it. Things have not exactly been going smoothly for him, and with everything that has happened since last night, he can't help but appreciate the doctor's inadvertent efforts. Katniss finally meets Peeta's eye and seems to visibly relax.

"So when did you get Charlie?" she asks. Peeta feels the grin on his face broaden.

"When I was twelve actually." Peeta takes a sip of his unsweetened lukewarm tea. "Right after my parents divorce was final. We were driving around one day." He drags his fingers through his hair. "I think I was sad about my mom not being around anymore, and my dad, he pulled into this animal shelter. We walked in and they had this lab who had recently given birth to a whole bunch of puppies, I think there were six of them. Anyways, Charlie, he was the shy puppy out of the bunch; when people would come to take a look at the litter he apparently would always hide behind his mother. But when we walked up to the cage, Charlie was the first puppy to bounce towards us. He was all big footed and clumsy." Peeta chuckles, looking up as he reminisces.

"The women at the shelter went crazy over it, gushing about how we were meant for Charlie. Who knows, maybe it was a tactic they use." He rubs the back of his neck. "But it worked and he was ours."

Katniss grins, but then her face turns serious. "How is your dad handling Charlie's accident?"

Peeta freezes and can feel his throat tighten; he focuses on his muffin, tearing it into chunks "Ahh...he ahh...he passed away not too long ago, going on about three months now." When he glances up at Katniss, her jaw is hanging open her eyes glassy and wide as saucers.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she stammers, taking a deep breath. There is suddenly an awkward silence at the table as Peeta continues to pick apart the subpar muffin.

"My parents are dead too!" Katniss blurts out loudly. When Peeta looks up he can see her cheeks are now ruddy with embarrassment. "I mean," she continues, "it's not like there is a club or anything. I just meant that I understand what you're going through.

"When?" Peeta asks softly.

"When did my parents die?" she asks, and he nods in return. "About five years ago. A trucker fell asleep at the wheel one night." She shrugs, but Peeta can see her bottom lip quiver slightly.

"Does it get any easier?"

"No," she answers. "I just have more in my life to distract me now." Peeta nods in understanding. The two fall quiet, both deep in thought.

"So there's really no club, huh?" Peeta asks jokingly after a few minutes of silence.

"Not that I've found." A small playful smile lights up her face. "But we could start one."

Peeta chuckles. "Ok, do we need a secret handshake or sign?"

Katniss narrows her eyes and twists her mouth in contemplation. "Oh, ok, I got it." She raises the three middle fingers of her left hand, while letting her thumb overlap her pinky. "What do you think?"

"That's the Boy Scout sign." Peeta mimics the gesture.

"Is it?" She stares at her hand

"Yeah, I mean, it's usually done with the right hand, but the idea is the same."

"Huh..." She reaches up to scratch her right eyebrow. "Well, all the better," she says with a smile. "Makes the club that much more secret."

He laughs out loud. "Yeah I like that." Katniss smiles triumphantly, and in return, he can't help think about how much at ease he is here with her— how easy it is to smile with her around.

Katniss tips back her cup, taking down the last of its contents. "So this coffee shop of yours, where is it?" She begins opening and closing the plastic tab on her cup lid.

"In Salem."

"Oh, with all the witches?"

"Yup, a few even come into my shop." Peeta chuckles.

"Woah, what's the name of it? I think I'm going to have to come check it out." The idea of Katniss visiting his shop gives him a fluttering feeling in his stomach which is quickly replaced by a growing guilt.

"Umm... Mellarks," he answers.

"Well, that should be easy enough to remember." She smiles flirtatiously and winks; it both tantalizes and worries him. "A couple of my coworkers actually live in Salem. Do you live there as well?"

"Yeah, right above the coffee shop actually."

"Oh... and...is it just you and Charlie?" Katniss isn't looking at him but rather at the nails of her left hand. Peeta feels his stomach drop at the question.

"It's us and...and my girlfriend."

"Oh." The disappointment in Katniss's voice is palpable. "Oh God." She looks to Peeta wide-eyed. "That came out so much more dramatic than I meant it to be. I can't believe I was just like, 'Oh'." She groans out loud, throwing her head into her hands. "Please just say something, ask me something, whatever, before I die from mortification."

"What do you want written on your gravestone?" Peeta asks with a smirk.

"What?" Katniss pulls her face from her hands to study him.

"I asked, after you die from being mortified, what do you want me to tell them to carve on your gravestone?"

"Ummm..." Katniss's smile is so large her face can barely contain it. "I guess... hmmm let me think." Peeta expects her to say something clever, but her face suddenly becomes thoughtful. "How about,_ 'She fought for those who couldn't fight for themselves.'_"

"I like that," Peeta admits quietly, and their eyes lock. He likes looking at the silvery pools. He realizes a moment too late he has been staring too long as Katniss's cheeks turn pink and quickly looks down.

The rest of the time passes pleasantly, both seemingly comfortable with the other. Peeta tells tale after tale about growing up with Charlie. Katniss listens attentively, laughing and asking questions at the right times. Their conversation only broken up by a buzzing that comes from Katniss's back pocket. She retrieves a black pager and glances down at it.

"Ahh, we should be getting back. Charlie should be ready to see you soon." She smiles at him.

"Good, I can't wait to see him."

* * *

On the way back to the hospital Peeta can't help feeling like an ass. He enjoyed Katniss's company— very much so, actually. And he can only assume she felt the same way about him considering how she reacted to the news of him having a girlfriend—even if she did try to play it off as social awkwardness.

He loves his girlfriend, Lavinia. Sure they have had some issues lately, but what couple doesn't? They have been together a long time, and he would never jeopardize what they have anyway.

So then why does he think he might like Katniss a little more than he should?

In the span of this single conversation he has smiled and laughed more than he has in days. She is easy to talk to, her awkwardness endearing, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't attracted to her, and that he didn't subconsciously check out her ass when he let her go first out the door.

_'You're being stupid, you only think you like her because she's taking care of Charlie.'_ Peeta chides himself mentally as Katniss pulls into the parking lot of the hospital.

Katniss leads Peeta down a long hallway that comes off the emergency side of the hospital. She stops in front of a metal door on their left and turns to him "I'm going to go in there and make sure he's awake enough, ok?"

Peeta nods and she disappears behind the door. He leans up against the cement wall, drumming his fingers nervously against the hard surface. He's anxious about seeing Charlie. What if he's in pain? Or what if his wounds are bloody and oozing? What if he's had a brain injury and doesn't remember who Peeta is? What if he can never walk again?

Lately Charlie has taken to sleeping on the bed between him and Lavinia, it's something Charlie has always done when Peeta is upset, and these past three months have been devastating for him. Charlie has been the only thing that has brought Peeta comfort since his father passed away, and Peeta wonders what will happen if Charlie can no longer provide that kind of relief from his grief.

The anxiety building inside Peeta has just about reached critical mass when Katniss finally opens the door, gesturing with her head for him to follow her inside. The room is filled with metal cages of differing sizes. Most of them are empty, but some have animals lying on their sides, blankets covering them, and tubes leading up to clicking IV poles. Katniss turns left, and when Peeta follows he can see a large metal cage on the floor and inside is a glassy-eyed but standing Charlie. A couple of plaid blankets cover the floor of the cage, but the chocolate lab isn't attached to any wires like the other dogs Peeta saw.

When Charlie spots Peeta, the dog's mouth opens, his pink tongue falling out as he pants with excitement. He lifts his right front leg and begins pawing at the metal door, sticking his pink speckled nose through one of the square openings on the cage.

"Charlie," Peeta practically whispers. This wasn't what he was expecting. He approaches the cage.

"Do you want me to open it?" Katniss asks from her crouched position next to the metal cube.

"Is that ok?"

"Not if he gets too excited." A deep voice from behind him calls out. For the first time Peeta notices the tall dark-skinned man, arms crossed. He is glowering down at Peeta. "We don't usually let owners come in here this soon after surgery for that exact reason," he says in a baritone voice. Peeta begins to back up.

"Oh, well I don't want..."

"It's fine, Peeta. Charlie will be fine." She stands and grabs a hold of Peeta's hand, pulling him towards the cage and making him crouch down.

"Kat," the man warns.

"I said it would be fine, Thresh." Katniss's voice is firm and authoritative. The man— Thresh—holds his hands up in front of him in surrender.

"Have it your way, Kat, but if something goes wrong it's not going to be me who gets into trouble, just remember that." Thresh stalks away from the cage and out of sight. Peeta catches Katniss rolling her eyes.

"Katniss, I don't want Charlie to get hurt or you to get into trouble." She shakes her head at him.

"We won't. Thresh is just a 'letter of the law' type person. I promise you both Charlie and I will be ok." And with that she unlatches the cage door, and the excited chocolate lab limps towards Peeta.

Regardless of the dog's gait, he doesn't look like he's in pain, and he's happy to see Peeta. Charlie's tongue jets out of his mouth to lick his dad's cheek. Peeta wraps his arms around Charlie's neck, nuzzling his face into the thick brown fur.

"Oh my God, Charlie!" His voice shakes. "You have no idea how worried I've been." He pulls back and holds the dog's face steady so he can look him in the eye. "Don't ever do that again; what the heck got into you?" Charlie continues to pant happily.

Peeta notices a shaved patch above Charlie's left ear, revealing stitches. He also notices his right hip area has also been shaved and a bandage wraps all the way around the dog, but other than that, he seems to be doing fine. Peeta blinks back the happy tears forming in his eyes.

After a few more minutes, Katniss helps Charlie back into his cage, but not before he licks her face joyfully and Katniss scratches his neck affectionately. Peeta watches the two of them intently. People have always flocked to Charlie, because of his gentleness and good nature, and the dog has always enjoyed the attention, but somehow the display in front of him is different, almost as if Charlie and the doctor share a secret that not even Peeta is privy too, he thinks he may like her even more because of it.

Once back inside, Charlie immediately walks in a circle and gingerly lays down, lowering his head and shutting his eyes. Peeta and Katniss both stand up.

"See, I told you he'd be fine," she says with a smile, and before Peeta can stop himself he's wrapped his arms around Katniss, pulling her into a fierce hug. Katniss lets out a surprised yelp, but quickly reciprocates the embrace.

"Thank you so much, Dr. Everdeen You have no idea. He's...he's mine and my dad's and...umm...I just..."

"I know," she whispers.

After a few more moments, Peeta pulls away and is too busy wiping his eyes to notice Katniss doing the same thing.

She retrieves a few pamphlets for him which explain the surgery and the postoperative care, along with recommended physical therapy facilities for animals. Peeta can barely focus on the words on the paper, but Katniss insists he can read them over after he's had some sleep since Charlie won't be discharged for a couple of days.

Katniss walks Peeta out of the hospital. It is a cool April day, and they both stand silently on the sidewalk in front of the building, staring out into the parking lot, soaking in the afternoon sun.

"Will you be here when I pick up Charlie?"

Katniss looks almost startled by the question. "Umm, yeah I'm sure I will be."

"Cool," Peeta says as he glances down at the tar pavement of the lot. "Well, I guess I should go." He pulls his keys from his pocket. "Thank you again." She smiles at him and nods, and he begins to walk his way to the car.

"It was nice meeting you, Peeta." Katniss calls out from behind him. He spins around to see her standing where he left her, biting her lower lip, pushing up on the balls of her feet anxiously. "I mean I wish it were under better circumstances, but still..." Her words quietly trail off.

"It was nice to meet you, Dr. Everdeen."

"Are you ok to drive?" she asks. Peeta nods reassuringly at her. "Drive carefully then ok?"

"Ok." He answers while walking backwards. She waves one more time before quickly scurrying back through the hospital's sliding door.

Peeta hops in his Jeep, and places the information Katniss gave him on the passenger seat and starts the drive home.

When he arrives back in Salem, he is beyond exhausted. He knows he should check in with Delly at the cafe, but he can't bring himself to face anyone right now and instead slowly trudges up the back stairs that lead to his condo.

The house is quiet. He knows Lavinia has work today, but it seems eerie without the sounds of Charlie to fill it. He drops the stack of paperwork on the coffee table to read later. He pads into his bedroom, stripping down to his blue boxer briefs before falling face first into the bed. He takes a moment to pull the blankets on top of him, and then he is asleep...

_Peeta finds himself sitting on a swing set overlooking the bright green field of the Salem Common. The day is bright, and the sky is a clear blue aside from a smattering of white puffy clouds here and there. In front of him plays a younger Charlie, without his limp or his graying fur. Peeta is mesmerized by the dog as he runs and leaps and rolls through the rich green grass._

"_Where are we?" Peeta turns and finds Katniss sitting on the swing next to him. She cocks her head in his direction. Her dark braid hangs over her left shoulder, her gray eyes almost sparkle in the bright sun, her mouth is pulled into a playful smirk, and Peeta can't stop staring at her._

"_This is a park near my house." His attention turns back to Charlie. "I haven't been on these swings since I was a kid, since my... dad brought me." He takes a deep breath. "I miss my dad," he says before turning to Katniss. Her eyes are wide with concern, her mouth turned down with the slightest of frowns. _

"_Of course you do." Her voice is sad. _

_When Peeta turns away from her once more he notices the sky has darkened to almost night, and when he scans the field in front of him he can no longer spot Charlie. _

"_Charlie!" he yells. "Katniss, can you see Charlie?" he asks frantically, but when he turns to her all he finds is the empty swing next to him._

Peeta shoots up out of bed, his heart hammering into his ribcage, his breathing rapid.

"What the fuck?" he mumbles to himself before scrubbing his face with his hands and dragging his fingers through his hair. He glances out the window, noticing it is now dark out, he realizes he must have been asleep for a while and proceeds to get out of bed.

After a long hot shower, Peeta heats up a plate of leftover eggplant parm. He plops down on the couch, eating with one hand and holding the papers from the hospital with the other. Peeta has just gotten to the section about exercise restriction when he hears the door open. He glances at the clock—12:04am—before looking over to see Lavinia walk through the door. He watches as she drops her Coach bag onto the floor then takes off her long black jacket and rests it over the back of a chair, revealing a tight low-cut green sweater. Her dark red hair is up in a messy bun. She kicks off her heels and walks towards the couch. She smiles when she sees Peeta.

"Hey," she says as she leans down and places a gentle kiss on his lips.

"Hey," he replies with a smile. His girlfriend plops herself down next to him, her black pencil skirt riding up when she does. "Did you guys win?" he asks with a yawn.

"You didn't watch?" She pouts at him.

"Sorry, I slept longer than I meant to."

"Oh ok, Well, we lost, but I did meet a super famous ex-hockey player." She smiles excitedly at Peeta. "Try to guess who, but you're never going to," she says matter-of-factly.

"Mario Lemieux," Peeta says a moment later. Lavinia's face falls.

"How did you know that?"

"Um..." Peeta rubs the back of his neck. "Because you guys were playing the Penguins tonight, and he's the owner."

"Oh." Peeta leans over and kisses her chastely on the lips while internally shaking his head at her ignorance.

He met Lavinia when he was a freshman at Mass Art, back when he was a general art major rather than in the graphic design program he is in now. Lavinia was a broadcasting major from Massachusetts Communications College. The night they met at a mutual friend's party, Peeta couldn't keep his eyes off of her fiery red hair and those perfect curves. To his surprise she seemed just as eager to get to know him. He remembers their first conversation was her animatedly describing her aspirations to be an anchor for network news, and that's why Peeta was surprised last year when she took the job as the Boston Bruins locker room reporter for NESN.

Lavinia had never shown any interest in sports before aside from discussing how hot Tom Brady and Jacoby Ellsbury were, and to this day, Peeta is sure he knows more about hockey than she does. It was definitely her perfect broadcasting personality and her good looks that landed her this job.

"So what was he like... Lemieux?"

"He was fine." She sighs before getting off the couch.

"What's wrong?" Peeta inquires.

"Nothing...why were you asleep earlier?" she asks without looking at him.

"I'd been at the animal hospital since last night, remember?"

"Oh right. How's Charlie?" She turns to look at him.

"Good." Peeta beams. "Saw him before I left; he was actually standing up and walking only a couple of hours after surgery."

Lavinia looks surprised. "So you went through with the surgery?"

"Yeah why wouldn't I?" Peeta is confused by the question.

"No reason." She glances at the papers spread across the coffee table. " What's all this?"

Peeta dives in explaining everything that happened. Of course he had called and texted Lavinia but never heard back from her. He tells her about the doctors he met, the surgery, the care Charlie will need once home and about the accommodations of the specific animal physical rehab facilities he researched online, all the while Lavinia's face becomes more and more discontented. When she audibly groans, Peeta pauses.

"What?"

She takes a deep breath. "I just wish we could talk about something other than the damn dog!" she snaps.

"Woah, Vi, what's wrong?" He drops the paper from his hand and stands up to face her.

"Nothing, it's nothing Peeta. I'm sorry I'm just tired." Lavinia walks back over to the couch seat and slumps into it. She grabs the remote, turns on the tv, and begins flipping through the channels. He returns to the paperwork in front of him. Neither one speaks, but this is not unusual for them, not for awhile now, not since Peeta's dad died.

After about forty-five minutes, Lavinia shuts off the television and tosses the remote on the coffee table.

"I'm going to bed," she states. "Are you coming?" Peeta glances at her.

"In a bit, once I finish going over this stuff." He smiles at her but the smile she gives him in return doesn't reach her eyes.

"Ok." she says softly before getting up off the couch and walking towards the bedroom.

Peeta knows something is wrong; he knows there has been for a long time now, but he just doesn't know what he is supposed to do about it. He hasn't been himself since watching his father slump to the floor in front of him, his hand grasped onto his upper left arm, the color draining from his face.

Peeta was always the first to be there for someone who was in need. His friends always came to him when they needed advice or they were having a tough time with life. He would listen patiently and offer anything he could to help them through their current predicament; now he barely answers their phone calls anymore. Its nothing they did of course, Peeta just can't bring himself to want to get together and watch the people around him have fun when he knows he won't. He also can't fathom why anyone would want his help, when he can't find it in him to help himself.

Peeta is determined to try though. Lavinia deserves a lot more than he has been able to give her lately. He pushes himself off the couch and walks towards her. He grabs her arm, spinning her so that she faces him and claims her lips with his own. Their mouth's find the familiar movement while the tips of their tongues gently touch.

When they pull away from each other, Lavinia's eyes are closed and her lips curve into a small smile.

"I'll be in soon," he whispers before planting a kiss on her forehead. She nods before turning and heading towards their room.

Peeta goes back to his laptop and tries to distract himself from the overwhelming loneliness he feels sitting here all alone. He knows going to bed will probably help. If he could just wrap himself around Lavinia, her warmth would anchor him.

But he doesn't move.

Instead, he falls asleep on the couch that night.

* * *

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	4. Chapter 4

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* * *

Katniss turns the key and pushes open the door to her one-bedroom apartment a few blocks from the hospital. It's spacious, and even has a deck with a skyline view. Rent has been paid through the end of the year, thanks to the settlement from the shipping company whose driver had killed her parents.

The driver had driven too long without stopping. He was eager to make his deadline so he could collect his bonus, but instead he inadvertently claimed the the lives of a husband and wife who left behind two children.

Katniss was 21 at the time and in the final few months of her undergrad degree at Michigan State when she got the phone call from her Aunt Sae telling her she needed to come home— that both her parents were dead.

It was _lucky _in a way that the accident happened when it did. Prim was 17 and had already been accepted to John Hopkins University for pre med, so the state didn't have to intervene. Katniss made arrangements with her professors which allowed her to complete the semester from her hometown in West Virginia. She was a straight-A student so her professors readily accepted the arrangement.

The last time she saw her parents alive was over Christmas break when they teased her for being so serious, always with her nose in an anatomy book. In fact her mother had to take the book away during Christmas dinner. She had rolled her eyes at their attempts to awaken levity in her. But now she wishes she had taken their advice; if she had, maybe she would have remembered what happened at the last dinner her family would share. Instead Katniss had been obsessively visualizing the aortic valve.

Katniss tosses her keys on her small kitchen table. She haphazardly drops her jacket into a chair. She then pads over to the refrigerator and retrieves herself a Blue Moon before slumping onto her couch with a groan.

Today has been long day for her. It started with that emergency at 4 am and now her bleary eyes glance at the clock to see its 8 pm, and somewhere in between she had met Peeta Mellark. She sighs loudly at the thought of him. She recalls his shaggy blond hair, his strong jaw line, his broad chest and those eyes, God those eyes. Katniss doesn't think she has ever seen a shade of blue so brilliant in her life.

She thinks about their conversation this afternoon, and though the idea of bringing him to Dunkin Donuts still makes her cringe, she smiles at how easy it was to be with him, how his smile made her smile, and how his laugh made her heart skip a beat. He even rolled with the punches when it came to her patented social awkwardness. Peeta seemed to go out of the way to make her feel comfortable.

She knows he is strong, she could tell from his arms and the way his blue henley stretched over his broad chest, and the muscles she could feel in his back when reciprocating his hug of appreciation.

She hopes he didn't notice the way she inhaled deeply while he held her in his arms. She vividly remembers the combination scent of cinnamon and warm sugar that wafted off of him. She wonders if his tongue tastes similar.

It's been awhile since Katniss has been with anyone else. She was never good at interacting with others so finding someone of the opposite sex was never as easy as it was for the other women she knows.

She's not a virgin, of course. She has been with a few guys in her twenty-six years. There was that jerk Lance Marvel in high school. She has no idea what attracted her to him, and she was nothing more than a conquest in his eyes. Then there was that shy guy, Thom, from her organic chemistry class at Michigan State. He was the closest thing to a relationship she had ever had, but that seemed to fizzle out quicker than it started. Then of course there was Andrew Gloss, who had finished his residency a year ago. At his going away party —after six shots of tequila— Katniss had given him head. The good-looking surgeon confessed that he had harbored a crush on her since she started the year before, and she can only assume her vomiting on his shoes was a good enough indicator that she wasn't interested.

But now all she can think while lying alone on her couch is if she would feel stubble if her tongue licked Peeta's strong jaw

Before she can stop herself, Katniss has popped open the top button of her jeans, and she slides her fingers into her black cotton boy shorts. She is already slick from her thoughts of Peeta and begins working her center in a tight circular motion. She imagines Peeta's mouth on hers, the feel of his tongue. She fantasizes about her hands thrust into his unruly curls, imagining how soft his hair is on her fingertips. She recalls the sparkle in his blue eyes and the sexy half smile he gets when he calls her _'Dr. Everdeen'._

"Ahhh!" she calls out as her orgasm hits her. She gasps at the intensity of it, but continues to move her fingers as the aftershocks wear off. She pulls her hand out from her pants and instantly feels guilty.

"He has a girlfriend," she mumbles to herself. She can't help but think she would hate the idea of some other woman getting off to thoughts of the guy she was dating.

"But you don't have a boyfriend, do you?" she reminds herself, feeling annoyed that the first guy she has been interested in for a long time now belongs to someone else.

"It's a sign, you know." She rubs her tired eyes. "You don't have time to sleep, nevermind date. Plus he wouldn't be interested in you anyway" She laments before draining the rest of her beer and heading to her room. She barely has enough energy to strip down to her underwear before falling into bed.

As the tendrils of sleep begin to tug at her, she knows she is better off not having someone romantically in her life; she doesn't need the distraction right now.

But that doesn't make her bed any less lonely.

* * *

Charlie has become quite the celebrity at Mockingjay in the two days since his surgery. Every time Katniss has gone to the wards to visit him — and she has visited a lot — there is always someone hanging around his cage, talking to him or petting him. The doctors and techs are a sucker for a well-behaved, friendly dog, and Charlie is one of the most well-trained, sweetest dogs Katniss has ever met, but that's not the only reason he's popular.

Today she walks in on two techs gossiping about how hot Charlie's owner is. She instantly feels her jaw clench and begins grinding her teeth. One of the technicians has Charlie outside of the cage and on a leash.

"What are you doing?" Katniss asks, startling the busty blonde with the green eyes.

"Just doing a discharge. The owner's here." Katniss feels her breath catch in her throat, and her stomach does an uncomfortable flip at the thought of Peeta being in the hospital.

"I can take him out." She gestures for the tech to hand over the leash. The blonde narrows her eyes at her.

"No, I'm all set." A disingenuous smile is plastered on her face. "It's my job." She possessively clings to the leash.

"Well..." Katniss glances down at the tech's name tag and has to stifle a laugh. "...Glimmer, I am this patient's doctor, and I would like to have a few words with the owner." Katniss smiles sweetly while Glimmer huffs out a breath.

"Fine." She hands Katniss the leash, and the discharge packet. Katniss turns around before smiling triumphantly, but as she leaves the wards with Charlie she feels foolish.

She's being ridiculous and she knows it, but that doesn't stop the fluttering in her stomach and the heat on her cheeks when she sees Peeta — this time wearing a gray v-neck sweater and dark blue jeans— sitting in the waiting area. She eagerly approaches him, her anxiety and excitement bubbling up in the back of her throat.

When she is only a few feet away, she notices he is on the phone. His jaw is set, his mouth in a grim line, his brow furrowed, and he looks pissed. Katniss isn't sure if she should bother him; she is still contemplating turning around when Peeta looks up, spotting her. His expression instantly changes from one of frustration to pleasant surprise. He mouths a _'hi' _ to her, and she returns it with a small wave. He then lifts his finger indicating for her to wait a moment. Charlie is pulling on the leash, trying to move towards his dad, and Katniss finally gives in, letting him walk over to the man on the phone. Peeta smiles widely at the dog, and pats him on the head before looking frustrated again.

"I understand that," he says firmly into the phone. "Vi...the doctor's here with Charlie. I gotta go." There is a small pause. "We'll talk about this later...Ok...bye." For a moment he just stares at the screen on his phone, but then shakes his head and looks up to Katniss, who is trying to appear oblivious to his private conversation.

"Hey." He smiles warmly at her. "The tech that just came out here told me you had the day off." Katniss curses under her breath at the technician with the stupid name.

"Yeah, well, I'm here." She shrugs, pretending that Peeta asking for her doesn't affect her.

"Good." He picks up a white pastry box at his side, then extends it towards Katniss. "Because I made you these." She wordlessly takes the package from his hands, a warmth suddenly bubbling inside of her. "I didn't know what other stuff you liked so I went with what I knew." Katniss slowly opens the lid, revealing four blueberry muffins. She can't stop the smile that overtakes her face.

"Thank you," she says to him as the lid drops closed, the smell of the fresh muffins curling into her face as it does, causing her to quietly groan.

"I mean I can't promise they're as good as Dunks, but..." He grins at her. She rolls her eyes back at him but lets out a chuckle.

"Whatever, they didn't have them where I grew up, ok?" She tries hard to scowl. Peeta looks confused.

"Where did you grow up? The middle of nowhere?"

"Yup, basically. 'Middle of nowhere,' West Virginia actually."

"Oh." Peeta cocks an eyebrow. "I would never have guessed that."

"Why? Because I don't sound like a hick?" She smirks. Peeta's eyes widen.

"No!" he says emphatically while shaking his head, but then he lets it fall forward. "Yes," he admits, causing Katniss to burst out laughing. Once she catches her breath, she looks around nervously. She spots Annie eyeballing her from the front desk. Katniss turns back to Peeta quickly.

"So...Charlie." She changes the subject and crouches down to affectionately rub the patient dog. She then begins explaining to the attentive blond about how Charlie has done since his surgery. She briefly goes over all the information that she gave to Peeta a couple of days prior.

"The stitches will come out in six weeks at Charlie's check up, but until then you can't get the area wet." She looks up at Peeta. "If the area and limb become overly swollen or the incision smells foul or is oozing anything other than clear discharge you are going to need to bring him back in." Peeta nods. She then pulls two pill containers out of Charlie's ward folder.

"This is Metacam and Tramadol for pain. The instructions are on the bottle. Charlie has been doing great, but I would still strictly follow the dosing instructions for the next few days, after that if he is doing well I would drop the tramadol from every eight hours to every twelve and the metacam from every twelve hours to once a day." When she looks into Peeta's eyes she sees panic and has to bite back a smile. "Don't worry, everything I have said to you will be on a print out when you check out at the front desk." She watches Peeta exhale.

"Oh good," he says, relieved. Katniss smiles before crouching down next to Charlie once more.

"I'm going to miss you, Charlie." She pauses when his long pink tongue pokes out to lick her face, making her giggle. "I want you to get better quick, and I'll see you in six weeks, alright?" She pats him twice on the top of the head before standing up. Her stomach does a flip again when she sees the intense look on Peeta's face; his eyes are a shade or two darker than usual, and an emotion Katniss is not familiar with flashes quickly across the blue pools before he shakes his head slightly, and they return to normal.

"So do you have any questions?" She secretly hopes he does.

"Umm, I'm sure I do, but I can't think of any right now." He rubs the back of his neck. Katniss tries to hide her disappointment.

"Well that's okay," she says reassuringly. "If anything comes up you can give me a call... I mean... not me, but the hospital... I mean I may be the one to field the call, but...yeah." She lowers her head and sighs.

"Thank you, Dr. Everdeen." She glances up to meet his kind smile. "Ready to go Charlie?" The dog perks up at the sound of his name. "See you in six weeks," he says to Katniss with a sexy grin that almost hurts her to look at.

"Six weeks," she echoes.

"Come on, bud." He gestures for Charlie to follow him. The dog licks Katniss's hand once before turning to follow his owner. After walking a few feet, she calls out to him.

"Thanks for the muffins." She lifts the box in her hands when he turns around.

"My pleasure," he replies with a smile. "Thanks for taking care of Charlie." Then he and the dog walk out the door.

Katniss can't quite explain the emptiness she feels in her gut; she assumes it is hunger so she takes her 'thank you' gift back to the empty surgery office. She plops down into a chair, flips the cardboard lid up and retrieves a delicious looking muffin. She pulls off a chunk of the top and places it on her tongue, and her eyes roll into the back of her head. The muffin is moist and fluffy, and every bite contains juicy bits of blueberry, the whole of it seemingly melting on her tongue.

"Grr," she growls, "Why can't you be single, Peeta Mellark?" She directs her complaint at the muffin.

"He's with someone?" She hears a soft voice from behind her." Katniss swivels her chair and finds Annie standing in the doorway, a frown on her face. She nods to the receptionist, whose face falls completely. "Oh no, that's awful!"

"Geez, Annie you seem more upset than I am. Should Finnick be worried?" She smirks at the pretty brunette, who exhales an exasperated breath.

"No it's not that. It's just you looked like you were hitting it off, and I don't know, he's the first guy you've seemed interested in as long as I've known you. So I guess I was hoping something would happen." Annie's pout breaks Katniss's heart. The cocky surgeon's wife is one of the sweetest people Katniss has ever met; when others hurt, she hurts too.

"It's no big loss," Katniss starts. "Even if he had been single, nothing would have happened."

"Why do you say that?" A confused look clouds her face.

"Because I'm too busy right now." Annie rolls her eyes at Katniss's answer.

"Oh come on, Kat. Finnick and I spent plenty of time together while he was doing his residency.

"Well... I..."

"What's the real reason? Tell me," Annie coaxes.

"Ahh." Katniss scrubs her face in frustration. "Because I'm a social nightmare, and I'm too skinny, and I'm not particularly pretty. There is no way that someone as good looking and as sweet as Peeta Mellark would want to be with someone like me." When she looks up at Annie, Katniss is startled by the tears in her green eyes.

"Do you really believe that? You know that's not..."

Katniss cuts her off, trying to stop the conversation before Annie tries to tell her things that just aren't true. "It is what it is, Annie. Now are you going to help me eat this muffin or not?"

Annie acquiesces, grabbing a chunk of muffin being offered and sits down in the seat next to Katniss; she takes a bite and moans out loud.

"Oh, shit!" Katniss snorts at Annie cursing. "This is incredible."

"Right?" Katniss's voice still heavy with disbelief. "His bakery is in Salem, by the way."

"Oh, do you know where?" Katniss shakes her head in response.

"Its called Mellarks." Katniss adds. Annie's eyes brighten with realization.

"That's by the wharf, right?" Katniss shrugs, swallowing her muffin.

"So... a baker made these?" Annie asks, and Katniss nods, while chewing a piece of the moist muffin "For you?" Katniss narrows her eyes at Annie, but nods again."Because?" Annie prompts.

"Because I helped his dog." Katniss snaps.

"Right, because you helped his dog." Annie nods sarcastically. "Because of that you were brought delicious homemade muffins."

"What are you getting at?"

"I'm just wondering why Gale— who actually saved Charlie's life— didn't get any baked goods."

"Shut up." Katniss scoffs. "You're delusional, Annie. He has a girlfriend."

"So you say." Annie waggles her eyebrows suggestively.

"God, Finnick is such a bad influence on you." Katniss shakes her head, causing the receptionist to burst into giggles

Annie breaks one of the remaining muffins in half, taking one of the pieces and heads towards the door. Before she exits she turns back to Katniss.

"Hey, Finn and I are having a barbecue next Saturday, that's your weekend off right?

"Yeah," Katniss confirms.

"Then you'll come," Annie asks hopefully.

"I don't see why not," Katniss says with a shrug. Annie smiles wide in return.

"Great." She takes a bite of the muffin half in her hand. "I..." she moans. "I can't get over how good these are." She smiles sadly. "See you you later Kat." She gives the surgeon a small wave.

"Later." Katniss calls out after her, then retrieves the abandoned muffin half, pulling off a chunk and popping it into her mouth.

"Well, Peeta Mellark." She sighs. "Your girlfriend is a lucky woman." She finishes the muffin and then heads back to work.

* * *

Peeta parks the Jeep in his spot behind the coffee shop and lets his head rest against the steering wheel. He listens to Charlie's steady panting coming from the backseat as he tries to calm himself down.

The car ride home had consisted of a heated conversation between him and Lavinia. Tonight there is a function at her work. This event has been six months in the making, and six months ago, Peeta was more than happy to go, especially when he knew Jerry Remy —the long-time Red Sox announcer — would be in attendance; now however, the thought of going fills him with anxiety.

He really wanted to go to support Lavinia, but as the days have gotten closer, Peeta has started feeling almost manic. He tried to explain all of this to his girlfriend, hoping that she would understand how the idea of being around people who could easily enjoy themselves made his stomach churn with panic, and his throat tighten with fear, but she wasn't hearing any of it, and instead demanded that Peeta get his act together and show up.

He finally gets out of the car; Charlie goes to jump out as well, but Peeta stops him just in time and picks up the dog, gently placing him on the concrete. When they get to the stairs, Peeta freezes. The take-home information that he received at Charlie's discharge says some stairs are alright, but this is a whole flight. Without another thought, Peeta scoops the chocolate lab up and walks up to his condo.

Once inside, Charlie excitedly walks around the house, sniffing everything he comes across. When he enters the bedroom he finds the little flight of carpeted stairs leading to the bed. Peeta had purchased them just yesterday, knowing Charlie would need help getting up on the king-sized bed. Charlie makes a circle on the comforter, lies down, closes his eyes and falls asleep. Peeta smiles broadly at the scene. He is so relieved that Charlie is safe at home.

For the next two hours he paces the apartment, trying to get up the nerve to go to the NESN event. At one point he actually puts on his tux and styles back his hair the way Lavinia likes it. He is starting to feel better—he might actually be able to do this, but not fifteen minutes later he is tearing off his bow tie and dragging his fingers nervously through his hair, and eventually changes back into his regular clothes. He throws on his Red Sox hat and sunglasses then grabs his keys.

"Charlie," he calls out. "Want to go for a ride?" In seconds, the dog is at his side. Peeta looks in the mirror before they walk out and is disgusted by what he sees. He has never been the type of person to let down those he loves, but now it seems to be a trend with him. "She deserves better than you," he mumbles to his reflection before taking Charlie's leash and walking out the door.

With the windows down, Peeta and Charlie drive up the coast, over the bridge in Beverly, past the mansions of Manchester-by-the-sea, by the Fisherman Memorial in Gloucester, and then stop at a fried seafood joint in Essex. They dine on a ginormous pile of clam strips and french fries, and Peeta occasionally squirts water into Charlie's mouth from his water bottle.

He only stops to let Charlie go to the bathroom, but otherwise he just keeps going. He feels like if he could just get far enough away from real life, then he can escape the pain as well.

It is very late when Peeta finally arrives back home. He parks his Jeep and cradles the sleeping dog in his arms before heading upstairs. The lights are on inside, and he can hear noises coming from the bedroom. He gently places Charlie on the couch then takes a deep breath and walks into his room.

Lavinia stands over a suitcase, her body clad in a tight black dress which hugs each and every one of her curves.

"You look beautiful." Peeta alerts her to his presence. He waits for her to start the inevitable yelling, but she doesn't, and when she turns around he can tell that she has been crying.

"So you're alive." Peeta can hear relief above anything else in her voice. "You didn't answer any of my texts."

"Sorry," he mumbles, looking to the floor. "I turned off my phone." He watches her bite her bottom lip and nod in understanding before turning back to the task at hand. "What are you doing?"

"Leaving." Her voice is eerily calm.

"What do you mean, leaving?" Lavinia sighs before dropping a silky blouse into the suitcase. She turns around to face him.

"I'm leaving you, Peeta. I can't do this anymore." She stops to wipe the tears that have begun running down her already splotchy cheeks. "You're not the man I fell in love with, and I'm sick of trying to get him back." The truth of her words cuts deep, and he can feel his bottom lip begin to quiver, and tears fill up his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he confesses.

"I know you are. I am too." She gives him a weak smile before turning back to her suitcase.

Peeta leaves her be and sits next to Charlie on the couch. Lavinia finishes packing and without another word leaves quickly. He doesn't try to stop her; he knows he doesn't deserve her. His mind drifts back to those days right after his father had died. Peeta had shut down completely, and it was Lavinia who had made sure he ate, drank and showered. She was the one who made sure _'Mellarks'_ was staffed properly. Lavinia was even the one to make the funeral arrangements and attempted to— unsuccessfully — hunt down his estranged mother, all the while Peeta went through the motions like a zombie. Sure Lavinia never talked to him about what he was feeling or tried to snap him out of his funk, but why should she, when she was in charge of everything else? She deserves better than some guy who can't keep his shit together, and so he doesn't chase after her when the door clicks shut.

Lavinia is right—he is a different person, and he hates it, but just like her, he doesn't know how to get the old him back.

* * *

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	5. Chapter 5

**Hi! Thanks to everyone who is reading this fic! You are all exceptional human beings!**

**A special thank you to Court81981 and Pookieh whose knowledge of the English language ables you to read this fic with ease... ;) **

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**Enjoy!**

* * *

Katniss drives her old green Chevy Blazer through downtown Salem. It's Saturday and she is on her way to spend her first day off in what feels like a long time with her friends at the Odairs' house on the edge of the city overlooking the water.

She has just entered the Waterfront District when she stops to let a large school group cross the street in front of her. While she waits, she glances out her passenger side window and her jaw drops.

"No shit," she mutters to herself in surprise as she looks at the green two-story building with wrought iron tables and chairs situated out in front of the large window panes of the first floor business. The circular sign that dangles above the entranceway reads 'Mellarks'.

Katniss gulps and can feel her stomach begin to flutter wildly at the revelation. Sure Annie had mentioned she thought the blue-eyed man's bakery was located by the wharf, but what did that really mean to someone who doesn't live here?

Her first instinct tells her to pull over, but she hesitates when she thinks of his girlfriend.

"What if she's there?" she continues to mumble. "You don't want to see that. Plus going in would be so inappropriate." She gnaws on her bottom lip as she stares longingly at the coffee shop nestled behind a couple of large trees that grow out of the sidewalk.

"Maybe you could just check to see if Charlie is ok." she reasons with herself out loud. "I mean you are his doctor, so it would be the right thing to do." A beep from behind startles her. She sees the school group has crossed and makes a final decision. She throws on her right blinker and pulls into the parking lot next to the building.

Once parked, she tries to calm herself down. The light fluttering in her gut has now turned into violent flapping, and she can feel her heart beating in her throat. After about five minutes of panic, she uncurls her fingers from their death grip on the steering wheel and with a deep breath exits the car.

She walks through the front door and looks around. In front of her is a counter with a cash register and a few baskets of baked goods. Above hangs a slate board with coffee specials written in neon chalk, and to the left is another board which lists more permanent items. Large glass display cases flank either side of the counter and are lit up to reveal a wide array of food from frittatas to cake slices to pastries. Katniss's mouth waters as she gazes at a decadent looking piece of red velvet cake.

The shop has warm, muted lighting. The walls are covered in colorful abstract paintings, and the seating is comfy and mismatched. The place seems pretty trendy. Katniss spots a man in a suit reading something on his Mac while a beenie-wearing hipster with tight jeans and a Ramones shirt sits sipping his tea on a multi-colored couch on the other side of the room.

Katniss walks up to the counter and is greeted by a smiling blonde. Katniss notices right away that the blue-eyed woman has piercings at the spot where her dimples would be, making her smile seem impossibly bigger.

"What can I get you?" the bubbly barista greets.

"Um.", Katniss's mouth feels dry and she can't get a grasp on what she wants to ask. The blonde cocks her head but continues to beam brightly. Katniss clears her throat. "Is... Is Peeta here?" Her voice goes up an embarrassingly high octave at the end, and she can feel her cheeks flush. At first the woman narrows her eyes in confusion, her smile faltering slightly, but then her eyes brighten.

"Is he expecting you?" she asks as her full smile returns. Katniss shakes her head.

"Um, no." She begins biting her lip and hopes this is not Peeta's girlfriend.

"Can I ask who you are so I can let him know?"

Katniss begins to panic when she can't for the life of her remember her own name, and instead she spits out the first thing that comes to mind.

"I'm his dog's doctor."

"Charlie!" the woman squeals. "But wait, I thought his doctor was an old guy." She raises an eyebrow.

"Um, well I'm the doctor who operated on him the other day." The barista nods and her eyes widen in understanding.

"Oh poor Charlie! Peeta has been a wreck, and then with everything that's happened since then." She clicks her tongue, her face falling.

"Wait, what hap..." But Katniss is cut off when a familiar blond comes out from a doorway on the other side of the counter.

"Hey Delly?" Peeta asks while staring down at a piece of paper in his hand. "Did that delivery of loose leaf tea come in yet?" He looks up at the woman in front of him.

Delly doesn't answer, but instead gestures her head towards Katniss. Peeta looks over and does a double take before his expression turns into one of surprised elation. Katniss gives him a small wave, her cheeks continuing to burn.

"Hi!" he greets happily. "You're here." He walks around the counter to stand in front of her.

"Yeah... um... I was in the neighborhood, and I thought... Um... I would stop by and see how Charlie was... um... doing." She can hear Delly snort off to the side, and she decides at that moment that she might dislike the bubbly blonde.

"Oh." He looks perplexed for a moment before smiling brightly. "Charlie is doing great, way better than I thought he was going to considering his age and what happened to him. The incision looks great and he has spent most of his convalescence sleeping on my bed, so yeah he's doing really well."

"Better a warm-blooded dog in your bed than a cold-blooded creature, am I right, Peeta?" Katniss watches Peeta turn with narrowed eyes towards Delly.

"Stop it," he warns, but the barista ignores him and turns to Katniss instead.

"Five years of time and service gets you nothing nowadays."

Katniss turns to Peeta for an explanation. He sighs and rubs the back of his neck. "Ah, me and my girlfriend broke up."

"Oh," Katniss says in surprise. "I'm sorry." She does notice the dark circles under his eyes and wonders if the break up is the cause of them.

"It's ok, things hadn't been going well for a long time." He offers her a small smile, and Katniss hopes her face is reciprocating appropriately. An awkward silence engulfs them, but then Peeta's eyes go round.

"Oh hey, while you're here." He jogs back behind the counter to stand behind the espresso machine. Katniss moves over towards him just in time for his head to pop up in search of her. He smiles when he sees her. "Do you have time? Can you stay a bit?"

"Ah yeah, sure," Katniss confirms. Peeta nods and then returns to the machine. _This is a good reason to be late...right?_ she thinks to herself

Katniss watches him pull levers, add powders, and heat milk. Steam rises from the machine, and the tip of Peeta's tongue sticks out of his mouth while he concentrates on something Katniss can't see. He glances up at her.

"Go sit down." He gestures past her to a small circular table surrounded by two low-set armchairs, each covered in different patterned cloth. When she sits down, he calls out to her, "What do you want to eat?"

"Oh, ah, I don't need anything."

He gives her an unconvinced look and raises an eyebrow. "Come on seriously, nothing looks good to you?"

"I didn't say that, cause it all looks amazing."

"Then tell me what you want," he insists.

"Um, I'll take a piece of the red velvet cake?" Her voice rising in a question.

"Good choice," he says as his lips curve up into a lazy grin, and he looks so sexy that it causes Katniss to squirm slightly in her seat.

A few moments later Peeta approaches the table with a purple mug in one hand and a pastel green plate in the other. He places both dishes down, and Katniss's eyes go wide. In the mug, surrounded by the white milky froth, is the most intricate design Katniss has ever seen in a coffee drink.

"Is...is that a... dandelion?" she stammers, not able to keep her eyes off the yellow-orange bloom on a green stem.

"Yeah," he answers in a quiet, shy voice.

"How do you make it have color," she asks, cocking her head at the mug for a different angle.

"Colored sugar actually."

"Oh," she says before looking up at him for the first time. His eyes are the brightest blue she's seen yet. "I almost don't want to drink it," she admits. Peeta chuckles.

"Well you have to." He eagerly gestures his head towards the cup.

Slowly she lifts the frothy drink to her mouth and blows gently before letting her lips touch the white foam. She takes a small sip, then another and when her tongue registers what she is tasting she gasps.

"Is this...?"

"Half hot chocolate, half hazelnut? Yeah. I figured out how to make it on my hoity-toity espresso contraption." He smirks. Katniss grins into her cup, and averts her eyes shyly, then goes back to sipping the drink made especially for her.

The drink is perfectly blended. The frothy milk and sugar combine to create something almost like whipped cream in texture and taste. The drink warms her whole body— or maybe it's just the look in Peeta's hooded eyes as he watches her intently.

"How does it stand up to the stuff you normally get?" He seems almost nervous as he asks, biting his bottom lip.

"Mmm, no comparison." She can't quite bring herself to look him in the eye, but she can see his triumphant smile.

When she is about half way done with the drink, she switches over to the cake. The deep red chocolate cake has layers of white cream cheese frosting and is topped with more of the cheese frosting and an elaborate chocolate swirl outlined with small red sugar beads.

Katniss lets her fork sink through all the layers until she reaches plate then lifts the bite to her mouth. Once the moist and impossibly divine piece of cake touches her tongue she shudders at the taste and moans so loud that the couple at the table next to them stare at her with piqued interest. She looks up at Peeta; her cheeks sting from her outburst, but the man seated across from her gives her no indication that he is embarrassed by her. Instead he gazes at her reverently.

"This is amazing," she gushes, and she catches Peeta's cheeks darken slightly.

"I'm glad. It's one of my favorites too."

"Do you make this here," she asks.

"Yeah, we do." He begins. "I mean, I do." Katniss can feel herself internally swoon as she adds yet another item on the quickly growing list of sexy attributes the man in front of her seems to possess.

"Have some with me." Katniss hands him the fork, but Peeta shakes it off.

"No it's all yours," he protests.

"But I would enjoy it more if you shared it with me." She gestures for him to take the utensil in her hand. He sighs but gives in, taking the fork from her and digging into the slice of cake. Katniss watches his mouth intently as he takes his bite, leaving the smallest of crumbs on his lip. The idea of her licking it off comes to mind. When he hands the fork back to her all she can think about as she takes her next bite is that this fork was in his mouth. Her train of thought is derailed, however, by a vibration in her pants pocket. She retrieves her phone and sees a text from Johanna: _"Pick up ice!" _

"Shit," she mumbles under her breath.

"Everything ok?" She glances up to meet Peeta's concerned expression.

"Yeah," she sighs. "It's just I was on my way to a thing, so... I should probably get going." She watches disappointment appear on Peeta's face, which causes her next words to sputter out. "Do you want to go with me? Its a barbeque so it'll be pretty laid back." Peeta's eyes light up for a moment before they become downcast.

"No, that's cool. I wouldn't want to crash your friends' thing."

"Peeta!" They both turn towards the counter to find Delly frowning in their direction. "Of course you can go!"

"Delly!" he hisses.

"The girl came all this way to check on Charlie, the least you could do is accompany her to a barbeque, sheesh!" She turns to give Katniss a playful smile, and in that moment, Katniss changes her mind and thinks she likes Delly very much. But her heart sinks when she sees the apprehension on Peeta's face.

"I mean..." Katniss looks down at her lap. "You don't have to come if you don't want to. I mean it is pretty weird for your dogs doctor to be asking..."

"No." Peeta interjects. "It's not that at all. I do want to go, it's just..." He begins worrying his bottom lip with his teeth then opens his mouth to speak only to close it again. He takes a deep breath before finally speaking. "I just don't want to leave Charlie alone." He gives her a half-hearted smile, and she is sure that wasn't what he meant to say.

"You could bring him." The words slip out of her mouth.

"That's a great idea," Delly calls to them.

"I mean..." Katniss continues. "It'll be a house full of veterinarians so there probably isn't a safer place for him to be." She shrugs at him. Peeta stares at her; at first his eyes show worry, but then he smiles that sexy half grin, and Katniss feels herself shiver.

"Ok, sounds like fun."

* * *

Katniss stands outside, leaning up against her Blazer, waiting for Peeta and Charlie to come down, a pastry box of confections that Peeta offered to bring in her hand. She hears a door shutting; when she directs her eyes towards the sound she spots Peeta, walking down the backstairs with Charlie is his arms. She gawks at him as the stunning blond easily carries the nearly one-hundred-pound dog down the stairs. When Peeta gets to the bottom step, he catches her staring at him and looks down, his cheeks turning pink.

"I'm over doing it aren't I?" he asks sheepishly.

"No, not at all," she says distractedly as her eyes gaze upon the definition of his forearms. She shakes her head and wipes her lower lip with her hand in case she was actually drooling. "In fact, its a lot harder for them to go down than up. It makes them nervous since they are so unstable." She smiles when she meets his blue eyes, and he gives her a full grin in return.

"Ok." He nods and seems relieved.

Katniss helps him get Charlie settled in the back, then hops into the driver's seat. She begins tapping the steering wheel with her fingers nervously while waiting for Peeta to get in. She's not sure what possessed her to ask him to come with her—well no, that's not true; she knows she asked him because of his smile... and his eyes... and those arms... and because he doesn't have a girlfriend anymore.

_Doesn't have a girlfriend? Did I hear that right? _She is tempted to ask what happened when Peeta is finally seated next to her, but decides against it, assuming it is probably a sore subject.

"Is there a store nearby where I can get ice?" she asks him once he's buckled.

"Oh sure, there's a Richdales a few blocks away, I'll show you." He points out which direction she should turn.

"Annie will be excited to see you," Katniss admits.

"Annie... oh the receptionist? Is that whose house we're going to? Go left here."

Katniss nods while taking the turn. "Yeah when we were talking about you the other day, I was pretty sure she was in love with you." She chuckles.

"You were talking about me?" Katniss can hear the smile in his voice, and her stomach twists uncomfortable. Did she really just admit that she was talking about him to Annie? She can feel heat crawl up her neck.

"Uh...I mean...ah. Yes, we were talking about the muffins you made me." She is almost breathless, and she can see him looking at her out of the corner of her eye but she doesn't divert her attention from the road.

"So you liked them? Turn left."

"Oh God, I loved them." She finally glances over to see him beaming at her, and her heart pounds against her chest. She can't tear her eyes away from his lips, for the second time today, as he mutters his next words.

"Turn into this parking lot."

"Shit!" She gasps when her distraction almost causes her to miss her turn. She takes the sharp left, and her tires screech as she pulls into a space in front of the convenience store. "Sorry," she mumbles before quickly exiting the car.

Katniss pushes herself through the door at the tiny mart and walks straight to the ice chest. She stares through the glass door that separates her from what she came for, but instead of opening the chest, she leans her forehead against the cool glass and takes a series of deep breaths, causing a cloud of condensation to appear on the door.

_Real or not real? _ _A (newly-)single Peeta Mellark is in my car and going to a barbeque with me? _

"There is no way he is actually interested in you," she mumbles out loud and then is startled by the sound of someone clearing their throat behind her. She spins quickly and sees Peeta standing there, an almost guilty expression on his face.

"Um, I wasn't sure how much ice you needed to get so I figured I'd come in to see if you wanted help." He looks past her to the chest.

"Oh, ok." Katniss turns quickly, hoping Peeta doesn't see the crimson color on her cheeks and prays to anyone that will hear her that he was not privy to her mumblings about him. She hands him two bags of ice then grabs one herself. Peeta insists on paying, and Katniss is still too embarrassed to stop him.

When they are back in the truck, instead of starting the car immediately, Katniss rests her head on the steering wheel, completely mortified that Peeta witnessed her leaning against the ice chest muttering to herself. To his credit, Peeta doesn't say anything, and waits patiently for Katniss to calm herself down.

"I'm sorry I'm so fucking weird." She sighs, feeling the Chevy symbol at the center of the wheel imprint itself on her skin.

"What?" He sounds genuinely confused. "You're not weird," he insists. Katniss snorts sardonically before turning to glance at the at-ease and seemingly put-together blond. She sits up, leans her head against the seat and closes her eyes.

"Neither of my parents were awkward and my sister is a social butterfly."

"You have a sister?" Peeta jumps in.

"Yeah... Prim. She could get anyone to fall in love with her in a single conversation." She smiles sadly to herself as she realizes how much she misses her younger sister, and hopes they can talk soon. "But me, I don't know. I just turned out different." She sighs.

"Well I think you turned out just fine." The huskiness of his voice when he talks to her makes her heart stutter, but then reality crashes down around her, and she knows he is just trying to be nice.

"Right," she says sarcastically as she turns on the car, but when she goes to shift into gear, Peeta grabs her wrist. Her skin tingles under his touch.

"I'm serious, Katniss, I like hanging out with you. I wouldn't be here if I didn't". Katniss gently pulls her arm away and tries to ignore the feeling of loss.

"You're only here because Delly almost broke your arm twisting it." She smirks and pulls out onto the street. Peeta huffs out a breath.

"If it looked like I didn't want to hang out with you, it's only because I have a lot of stuff going on right now." He looks down, while dragging his fingers through his hair. "I really do like getting to know you." And the honesty in his voice makes Katniss smile.

"Ok." Katniss lets it go, feeling guilty for pushing him; after all, the guy just broke up with his girlfriend. "Speaking of Delly, is she your sister?" She thinks back to the happy blonde-haired blue-eyed barista.

"Oh, no. Just a good friend."

"Ah." Katniss nods her head. "When I first walked in, I thought she might have been your girlfriend." She says then bites her lip. She glances at Peeta when she hears him chuckle.

"No, I can honestly say I have never looked at Delly that way. I've known her most of my life. But even if I had, you would have a better chance with her than I would."

Katniss lets his words sink in before her eyes widen in realization. "Oh!" She puts her hand to her mouth and laughs.

"Actually." Peeta smirks. "You are basically her type." Katniss swipes at his leg with her hand.

"Stop it," she warns.

"No joke." He chortles. "Her last girlfriend looked just like you."

"Oh yeah, how?" Katniss says but then holds her breath as she waits for the answer.

"Well..." His voice deepens slightly. "She had long dark hair and dark eyes...and she was _very_ attractive." Katniss smiles in spite of herself and feels herself blush. "In fact," he continues. "She really liked my blueberry muffins too." Katniss snorts out a laugh.

"Yeah, well if someone ever tells you they don't like your muffins, you tell them they are wrong."

Peeta laughs loudly. "I'll keep that in mind."

With the air cleared of the earlier awkwardness, thanks to the social savviness of her charming passenger, the remainder of the car ride is spent in comfortable conversation. Katniss knows her friends are going to give her shit when she shows up with Peeta, and the thought of it makes her a little queasy, but when she glances over at him, and catches him smiling back, she knows it'll be worth it.

* * *

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**Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone! Thanks for your continued support of this story! I cannot believe the response this has gotten... You are all AMAZING!**

**A special thanks To Court81981 and Pookieh for your amazing ability to make anything I write pretty! Also, Pookieh, thank you for catching that embarrassing detail...haha! And to HGR - Thanks for the pep talk... :)**

**Enjoy**

* * *

Katniss pulls up to Finnick and Annie's large home that overlooks the ocean. The beautiful blue house does not reflect Finnick's ostentatious persona, but rather the delicate beauty and calm that exudes from Annie._ It is why they are perfect for each other, _Katniss thinks to herself as she puts the car in park. Both she and Peeta glance into the back seat at the same time to find Charlie peacefully sleeping. They look to each other and smile before getting out of the car.

Katniss retrieves the ice from the back while Peeta rouses Charlie and helps him down from the car. Peeta grabs the pastry box and one of the bags of ice from her, and they walk towards the house.

It's a warm day spring day and when they walk up the front stairs, they find that the heavy wooden door has been propped open but the screen door remains closed. Katniss peeks in and when she doesn't see anyone, she pushes her way inside.

"Come on." She gestures for Peeta and Charlie to follow her.

They make their way through the nicely kept, nautical-themed home and towards the deck. From her vantage point, Katniss can see Gale and Johanna eating burgers.

When Katniss pushes the sliding door open, her two friends look up at her.

"Jesus, Catnip where did you stop for ice, the Arctic?" Gale yells. Katniss rolls her eyes as she steps out onto the deck, making room for Peeta and Charlie to follow. Gale's mouth drops open and Johanna's mouth pulls into a devious smirk, which Katniss doesn't quite understand.

"I'm sorry." Peeta pushes in front of her. "That was my fault."

"Oh." Gale stands up. "No, it's no problem, dude." He extends his hand. "Peeta, right?"

Peeta nods taking Gale's hand. "Dr. Hawthorne," he greets.

"Gale," the doctor offers back.

When Charlie comes into sight, Johanna gasps and gets out of her seat; while she, Gale and Peeta catch up on how his dog is doing, Annie comes up on Katniss's side and wraps her arm around hers.

"I didn't know you were bringing Peeta?" she whispers into Katniss's ear.

"I didn't know either." Katniss shrugs. "It just kind of happened." Annie looks like she wants to ask more details but bites her lip instead.

"But I thought he was seeing someone."

"They broke up," Katniss confesses.

"Oh!" Annie's eyes widen and she looks around nervously. Katniss is about to ask her what's wrong when a guy with red hair that Katniss knows to be Darius from Radiology at the hospital approaches. She's confused by his presence because he is not in her circle of friends, but he's a nice enough guy when she's at work, and he always makes sure that Katniss's patients get their X-rays first. Still she glances around, wondering who else is here that she's not expecting.

"Hey, Kat," he says when he's right in front of her.

"Oh hey, Darius, I wasn't expecting you to be here." She smiles, and Annie begins giggling nervously at her side. "What...?" Before she can question Annie's behavior, the pretty brunette scurries off to join the others.

Her eyes follow her friend, but land on Peeta, who is looking in her direction apprehensively as he accepts a Boston Lager from Gale. She gives him a small wave and wonders if he is uncomfortable being around people who remind him of his dog getting hit by a car. She is about to wave him over when he begins stalking towards her with a broad smile on his face.

"Hey," he greets her when he is at her side before turning his attention to Darius. "Hey man, nice to meet you, I'm Peeta." She watches him extend the hand not holding his beer towards the red-head.

"Darius." He takes Peeta's hand and they shake a little longer than what is standard, and when they break away, they both turn to Katniss smiles on their faces.

Katniss turns and leads the two men back to the group. She has just sat down with Peeta taking the chair to her left and Darius to her right and Charlie resting his hand on her lap when the screen door slides open and Finnick walks out carrying a large brown paper bag. He ignores the group at first, walking over to the outdoor bar. He places the bag behind it and moves to steal a kiss from his wife, who is seated nearby; then he looks up at the people filling his deck. His eyes scan the area, and his lips curve up into a smirk when he finds Katniss.

"Hey there, Kitty Kat, I see you brought the ice...and someone else." He puts on his standard charming Odair grin before leaning over to give Peeta his hand. "And you are?" he asks the blond.

"Peeta."

Katniss watches the surgeon's eyes widen. "Oh... Peeta." Finnick looks to Katniss, a smug and satisfied smirk on his face before turning back to the blond. "So you're the guy who has my wife and my Kitty Kat's panties all moist." Katniss's jaw flies open, and her breath gets caught in her throat.

"Ah..." Peeta begins hesitantly.

"Finnick!" Annie hisses at her husband.

"What?" Finnick looks around innocently before glancing back to the uncomfortable looking man. "I've had to hear about the sexy, sweet baker 'Peeta' for a week now." He narrows his eyes. "Now Peeta, this is my house, and Annie is my wife, and I am sorry I cannot abide by you sitting on my deck unless you brought some of these muffins I've heard so much about." He guffaws as he watches Peeta exhale a nervous breath.

"White box on the bar," Peeta gets out before he begins to chuckle at the surgeon's theatrics.

Finnick looks giddy as he bolts over to the pastry box marked 'Mellarks.' Katniss rolls her eyes at him. He licks his lips as he gazes into the box, retrieves a chocolate eclair, and takes a bite, a bit of creme remaining on his lips. As he chews, he looks over to Peeta again.

"Hey Peet, have you met Darius?" He gestures to the red-haired man on Katniss's right. "Oomph." His arms move to cover his stomach as Annie hits him in the gut, then narrows her eyes at her husband. Katniss has no idea what's going on and stares at Finnick.

"Yeah, we've met." Peeta chimes in pleasantly. Finnick continues smiling.

"Oh good!." He begins rubbing his hands together in front of him. "This is going to be a fun day." Katniss catches both Darius and Peeta shift in their seats, but she has little time to think about it when Finnick walks over to her and kneels down next to Charlie, allowing the dog to sniff his hand before he pats his head. Finnick then stands the chocolate lab up and glides his hands down either side of the dog's back until his hands land on his hips. Charlie startles a little, but Finnick speaks to him soothingly.

"Easy boy, I won't hurt you." He then begins feeling the area of his hips that was surgically repaired. Finnick stares off into space with glassy eyes, biting on his upper lip in concentration. Katniss catches the puzzled look on Peeta's face as he watches the surgeon feel up his dog.

"Jesus, Kat, this feels solid." Finnick exclaims in disbelief. Katniss becomes defensive at his tone, not liking to be treated like a novice—especially in front of Peeta

"Of course its solid, Finnick, why the fuck wouldn't it be?" she barks out louder than she meant to. Finnick raises his hand in self-defense.

"Woah, no insult intended, Kitty Kat. Learn to take a damn compliment," he huffs.

"Kat was a rock star in there," Johanna pipes up, her face serious. "I've worked with staff surgeons who were less calm and collected than she was." Katniss catches Peeta's admiring stare and turns away bashfully.

"You better not be referring to me." Finnick glares at the tech, who rolls her eyes in response.

"All I'm going to say is 'Effie Trinket,'" Johanna says with a smirk while Finnick's eyes go round and his mouth drops open.

"I thought we agreed we were never going to talk about that, Jo," he warns.

"Who's Effie Trinket?" Peeta leans over close to Katniss, causing a shiver to run up her back.

"She's this spoiled, prissy poodle who belongs to this rich lady. While Finnick was performing larynx surgery on the dog, it barked in Finn's face while under anesthesia, and..." Katniss begins laughing and has to take a second to compose herself. "And Finn got so scared he fell backwards and took the instrument table with him, and..." She makes a crashing noise and gestures wildly with her hands then dissolves into giggles again. Peeta begins chuckling along with her.

"How the fuck do you know that?" Finnick gapes at her.

"Jo told me," she says as she wipes tears from her laughter off her face.

"Is there nothing sacred, Johanna?" He pouts at her. Johanna just shakes her head and turns to Peeta.

"Charlie was in the best hands," she tells him.

"Yeah." He turns to look at Katniss. "I definitely got that after Katniss and I spoke that morning." He gives her an appreciative smile; the bright blue of his eyes almost sparkles when it meets the gray of hers, and Katniss can feel her cheeks heat up as she bashfully looks away.

"I'm not surprised." Darius adds. "I've seen her post-op X-rays, and she does great work." Katniss looks at him, feeling confused by the compliment. Sure he tends to do most of her patients' X-rays, but she can only imagine he does tons of them throughout the day. She can't possibly believe he would remember hers, so why say it?

"Um, thanks," she says with a small smile. When she turns back, she catches Johanna smiling deviously at her, and Annie covering her face with her hands. Katniss quirks an eyebrow. But Johanna looks to Peeta instead.

"So, Blondie," she addresses him and Katniss groans loudly, throwing her face into her hands.

"Yes, Johanna?" Peeta inquires in a playful voice.

"I'm kind of surprised to see you here," she says with a smirk that Katniss catches as her head flies up to scowl at her friend.

"I invited him," Katniss snaps at her. Johanna rolls her eyes.

"I know you invited him, Brainless. I just am surprised he came."

"Oh, and why is that?" Peeta continues to play along.

"Well I was under the impression you have a girlfriend." Katniss can hear a slight edge to her statement.

"Johanna!" she hisses at her.

"We broke up," he replies, not missing a beat.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Johanna tone is genuinely sympathetic. Peeta gives her a smile and a small dismissive wave in return.

"How long were you two together?" Finnick's expression is almost sad when he looks at the blond.

"Um, just about five years." Peeta answers quietly. Finnick whistles air through his teeth, but doesn't follow up his question. Katniss is mortified by the interrogation, but she can tell by the look on Finnick and Johanna's faces that they are done. She is about to release a sigh of relief when the redhead to her right pipes in.

"Wow five years. So I guess you're not looking for anyone new right now, huh?" he says to Peeta while shifting around Katniss to face him. Johanna's mouth puckers up and her eyes widen in anticipation, and Katniss can see how uncomfortable Peeta is by the question. As much as she would love to hear the answer, she doesn't like the look in Peeta's eyes.

"Can we stop talking about this!?" she snaps at Darius but lets her glower meet everyone's eyes. "Stop embarrassing me and my friend, okay? Fuck!" She gives Peeta a sympathetic smile, who returns one of appreciation. She leans in close to him, hand resting next to his, her skin just grazing his. "I'm so sorry," she whispers into his ear, and fights the urge to tug on the lobe of it with her teeth. "I don't even really know Darius so I have no idea what the fuck his problem is." She watches a large grin encompass Peeta's face, and when he tilts his head to look at her, his eyes alight with humor. "What?" she asks with an involuntary smile.

"Nothing." His tongue jets out to lick his lips. "It's just...I like hanging out with you." She can feel her heart stutter at the sincerity in his words. She looks down, suddenly shy under the gaze of his bright blue eyes.

"I like hanging out with you too," she manages to get out before her cheeks flush cherry-red. A clearing throat brings them out of their private conversation. Katniss looks around to find everyone but Darius studying her with small smirks on their faces.

The group falls into easy banter, and soon the anxiety of their earlier conversation is forgotten. Katniss marvels in Peeta's ability to interact with her friends with ease. He barely knows any of them, yet he has them hanging on his every word, even Finnick has started staring at him with doe eyes. Darius and Peeta even converse about fair-trade coffee brands. Katniss can feel something bubble inside of her, a feeling she hasn't felt in a long time. As she watches Peeta chat with Gale, her eyes focusing on the broad grin on his face, she can't help feeling hopeful that maybe she might actually have a shot with Peeta. The baker, of course, catches her staring, but before she can look away, he gives her that sexy, lazy grin of his and winks, and a shiver runs down the entirety of her body.

"You know what I'm craving, Catnip?" Gale asks a short time later.

"What?"

"Venison stew," he says wistfully while groans erupt from her other friends.

"I take it you make good stew then?" Peeta asks her, but before she can answer, Gale speaks up again.

"No way, Catnip can't cook for shit, dude."

"Thanks," she says sarcastically while rolling her eyes. Gale smirks.

"You know I'm right." He looks back to Peeta. "Catnip, however, is a pro at hunting down the most succulent deer you can find. Mmm." He closes his eyes and rubs his stomach.

"You hunt?" Peeta asks in disbelief. When she looks at him, his expression is one of confusion.

"I mean it might not be everyone's thing," Darius interrupts. "But I think it's cool that you hunt, Kat."

"Thanks." She smiles at him, but when she turns back to Peeta, his jaw is clenched, his mouth pulled into a thin line as he glares at Darius.

"I never said I had a problem with it," he says before looking to Katniss. "I'm just surprised that's all. I mean doesn't shooting animals go against your hippocratic oath?"

"Oh god, here we go." She can just make out Johanna mumble before she begins her defense.

"Do you know how many deer related car accidents happen in Massachusetts a year?" she asks Peeta.

"Um, no."

"Three thousand."

"Holy shit!" Peeta gasps. "Are you serious?" Katniss just nods.

"Do you know why so many happen?" Peeta shakes his head looking for her to answer. "Because of overpopulation. Rabbits have nothing on the mating habits of deer. Too many fawns born, the food in the area runs out, and the deer move across highways to access more resources and bam!" She smacks her hands together. "So really I would be _breaking_ my hippocratic oath by not shooting these deer, otherwise Bambi and his mother are likely going to be hit by a car—possibly killing the family in the process, or they are going to painfully starve to death." She shrugs.

Peeta cocks his head and gives her a toothy grin. "Well I guess you've got me there, Dr. Everdeen."

* * *

A few hours later, Katniss, Peeta and Charlie have piled back into her car, having made promises that both Peeta and Charlie would hang out with all of them again soon. Katniss watches as Darius gets into his red Accord, having waved at her and Peeta with a dejected look on his face. Katniss is unsure of the cause, but she shakes it off and pulls out into the road.

The first few minutes of the drive are spent in silence before Peeta speaks up.

"I had fun today, thanks for inviting me." Katniss smiles and lets out a short breathy giggle.

"I had fun today too," she admits. "I'm glad you came." She turns her head quickly and catches him staring at her, but their eyes just barely meet when they both turn away. The energy has changed between them. And Katniss can feel her heart flutter and sweat collect between her hands and the steering wheel because of it.

She likes him—like _really_ likes him, and she is pretty sure he likes her too, so why is she so nervous?

_You have a lot going on, _she reminds herself.

She knows he's speaking to her, but she can't quite make out the words; instead she can feel the deep timbre of his voice reverberate through her body, and settle between her thighs. She wants to kiss him—badly. Hell, she wants to do more than just kiss him; she wants to touch him and taste him, and she wants to know if his moans are just as deep as the sound she hears coming from him now. She lets out a little gasp while squeezing her thighs together to relieve some of the tension building there now.

She is on his street now. She tells herself it's okay to want this from him; after all, he's single now.

_Single..._ She inwardly smiles, but something doesn't settle right in her gut. _He just became single_. she reminds herself as she pulls over next to his house.

"Um...so." Peeta snaps her out of her thoughts. "Can I see you again sometime?"

"Yeah, definitely." She smiles outwardly, but inside she begins panicking. Something seems off.

"Soon, I hope," he continues and he gives her that lazy grin, and she almost forgets the storm brewing in her head.

"Whenever you want." She hopes her voice is steady. Their eyes meet, and she watches Peeta's as he studies hers, and then ever so slightly he begins to lean forward, and his eyes slowly flutter close.

Katniss knows what's coming, and she wants it, god does she want it. Those lips that move towards her, she craves them so badly.

_Calm down then. Kiss him._

_But he and his girlfriend just broke up._

_So?_

_So... they were together five years...five fucking years... Five years is a long time. Five years ago, my parents were alive. _

_But you want this._

_But does he, or am I just a rebound?_

_Well his mouth is right fucking there, make a decision._

_Fuck. My. Life. _

Katniss holds her breath and can just about feel Peeta's lips ghost over hers when she turns her head abruptly. His lips land on her heated cheek, and she instantly regrets her decision, especially when she feels the warmth and softness of his flesh against hers. Peeta presses into her slightly before pulling away.

"I...Peeta...I...I'm sorry."

Peeta put his hands up to stop her. "It's ok, Katniss, really."

"But...I..."

"We barely know each other; that was way too forward of me."

"No it's not that, it's..."

"Seriously, Katniss, it's ok." There is a broad smile on his face, but his eyes look sad, and the sight crushes her. She watches him exit the car. She doesn't know what to say to stop him, to ask him to start over. When he closes the door after helping Charlie down from the back seat, he turns and gazes at her through the open window.

"Thanks again." She manages to nod dumbly at him. Peeta turns and begins to walk away.

_Do something stupid._ Her inner voice screams.

"Peeta." She calls to him. He turns and regards her curiously before walking back to the car.

"What's up?" He leans into the car.

"Um." She bites her lip as she tries to gather her words. "I should get your number...if you still want to hang out with me that is." She watches his eyes light up infinitesimally.

"Of course." He gives her a small smile.

After they exchange numbers and Peeta and Charlie have walked across the street, she groans at her reflection in her rearview mirror and then slams her head into the steering wheel. The beep that comes from the impact makes her jump.

"So stupid." She sighs.

* * *

Peeta stares down at his phone and for the first time in days, he genuinely smiles, although it is small and falls away quickly.

_Hi :)_

A simple text from Katniss has given him a small reprieve from the downward spiral he has been on since the last time he saw her. Of course it isn't her fault, and it really has nothing to do with her. This has been brewing for awhile now, and although Peeta has had bouts like this in the past, Lavinia was always someone he could to attempt to be strong for, but now it's just him and Charlie, and the elderly dog has no problem sleeping the day away.

It's been four days since the get-together at the Odairs, four days since he tried to kiss Katniss—unsuccessfully so. In a way he is glad though. He _had_ just broken up with Lavinia, and is in no state of mind to take on another emotional relationship, and he would never want to bombard Katniss with his personal shit. But that doesn't change the sting to his ego when she turned her head or the way his heart ached when he walked away from her car. He likes her, that much he knows, and he had wanted to press his lips against hers the minute he found her standing in his coffee shop. There is just something about Katniss Everdeen that sets his mind at ease, that makes him believe that it won't always be like this.

_Hi :) _He texts back, then turns off his phone and goes back to bed.

As the days go on, his depression gets worse. Delly manages to get him down into his office on a couple of different occasions, but even there amongst his friend, employees and customers he feels completely alone, and all he can see is that spot right behind the counter where he held his father's hand and watched as the only family he had died before his eyes.

In the end, everyone leaves him.

It's on a Friday when he decides he can't sit in the stale air of his condo any longer. He asks Delly to keep an eye on Charlie and walks down to the tavern up the street from his house. The bartender hands Peeta his first heavy-handed rum and coke, which he takes down quicker than he should. His second empties just as hastily, and by his fourth he has his phone in hand, smashing a message to Katniss into it that he hopes reads:

_I wish you were here drinking with me right now._

When he thinks of the lovely doctor he smiles so wide that he is sure the people around him can see the heart he is wearing on his sleeve, but in his current state of mind he couldn't care less. But then his alcohol-addled brain begins to go to darker places, and suddenly he remembers the last time he was with her. His sober brain knows well enough why she turned her head away, but the rum in his blood can't help but send him down a self-deprecating path, where he tells himself that he misread all the signs and that Katniss can see right through his act, and that she has no interest in him. Now he wishes he hadn't sent her that text, but she hasn't responded, so all the more reason to believe he is right—right?

He drops a few bills on the polished bar top and manages to walk to the door without giving away his altered state. Once outside in the cool spring evening, he can truly feel how intoxicated he is, and he begins stumbling home.

Once home he pushes open his door and walks into the living room, expecting to find Charlie sleeping at his usual spot on the couch, but Charlie is nowhere to be found and instead...

"Lavinia?" He blinks a few times, wondering if she is just an alcohol-induced hallucination. When she doesn't disappear, he cocks his head at her. "What are you doing here?" He stops his movement and just stares at the red-head sitting on the couch. She doesn't look as put together as she usually does; she wears black yoga pants and a gray sweatshirt he is sure is his. Her hair is up in a messy ponytail, and her eyes are red-rimmed.

"Have you been drinking?" she asks softly. He just stares at her for a moment.

"Is that a problem?" he inquires as the room he's in begins to get fuzzy around the edges. Lavinia just shakes her head in response, then takes a shuddering sigh before speaking again.

"I... miss you," she confesses. "I..." She begins to cry, and Peeta feels a sharp pain in his heart at the sight of it. Lavinia was the first girl he ever loved, and with the issues he has had of late, she may well be the last, and even though they are not together he still cares for her deeply. Her pain just amplifies his own. He carefully closes the distance between them and takes her into his arms. He revels in the feel of her warmth, and the smell of tropical fruit in her red hair.

"Shhh." He soothes. "It's ok... I...I miss you too." Lavinia pulls away at his words and sniffles. She raises her hand to wipe her nose.

"You do?" she chokes out. Peeta nods, but then looks to the ground. This is a bad idea and he knows it, but she's here and he's drunk, and her nails are gently dragging up and down his back, just the way she knows he likes it, and he can't imagine anyone else in the world actually missing him.

"I just don't want to feel this way anymore," he mumbles to himself, his voice cracking with emotion. His eyes fly up to meet Lavinia's green orbs, and although the room has begun swaying, he grabs her face and and crashes his lips to hers. Lavinia squeaks in surprise, but then moans into his mouth when he presses his tongue through the seam of her lips.

They pull apart and start stripping, a flurry of clothes tossed around the room. Once they are down to their underwear, Peeta grabs Lavinia by the hips and pulls her clumsily towards the bedroom, passing Charlie as they cross the threshold.

The chocolate lab lets out an annoyed huff just as they close the door behind them.

* * *

**Can I just ask you to trust me? LOL! **

**I hope we can still be friends... **

**Thanks for reading! **


	7. Chapter 7

**_Hey Everyone! I just have to say the response I got for the last chapter was incredible! Thank you so much for all of your kind reviews and PM's despite the end of the last chapter! You guys ROCK!_**

**_Thank you to Court81981 for making me a better writer, and to Pookieh for telling me all the time that I'm a better writer...LOL XOXOX_**

**_Lyrics from 'Closing Time' by Semisonic_**

**_Enjoy!_**

* * *

_Damn it!_

She missed him and his text message that she is currently staring at:

_I wish hert drinking with me. Rifgr now. _

The jumbled message makes Katniss laugh out loud despite her tired eyes, her empty stomach and the crick in her neck. She glances up at the clock and sees it is nearly three am. Peeta must have texted her after she went into surgery for the laryngeal paralysis on a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who was brought in, unable to breathe, by his panicked owner.

Katniss is tempted to text him back, but she worries that if the sound of her incoming message will wake him, and from the state of his message she is sure he had no trouble getting drunk without her. So instead she puts the phone back into the pocket of her light blue scrub shirt and resolves to text him back later, at the very least to make sure he got home okay and that his hangover isn't too severe.

She wishes she had been off work and had seen the message in time to respond. The good-looking blond has taken up the majority of her non-medical related thoughts lately. And although they have communicated by text since the last time they saw each other, the messages never branched out past the standard 'hello, how are you doing?' If anything, Peeta has seemed less like himself and more distant from his abrupt one-word texts. Katniss can't help but wonder how much it has to do with the 'not kiss,' as she refers to it to her friends.

When she had called Johanna right after Peeta was out of sight and told her what embarrassing thing she had done now, her spunky best friend ruthlessly howled with laughter into Katniss's ear until she pulled the phone away. When Johanna relayed the story to Gale, who was obviously next to her, he had assured Katniss that she did the right thing; after all she barely knew the guy, and he had just broken up with his long-time girlfriend. His disagreement with Johanna over the matter didn't go well, however, and the two ended up fighting, effectively forgetting that Katniss was still sitting on the other end of the phone. She ended up disconnecting the call in the midst of their fight as they flung insults at each other.

But now as she stares at Peeta's inebriated message, she can't help but feel the slight flutter of hope in her gut. That same bit of hope stays with her on the ride home after the surgery and when she crawls into bed. She falls asleep to image of Peeta wearing his sexy grin in her head.

* * *

She is awoken by the sound of Toto's 'Africa' filling her bedroom. When she opens her eyes, she can feel the sharp pain of not sleeping nearly long enough shoot through her brain. In her bleary state, she fumbles for the phone and almost ends the call instead of answering it.

"Hello? Prim?" she says in a raspy, just-woke-up voice.

"Katniss?" She hears her younger sister answer back.

"Yeah, hi."

"Did I wake you?" Prim squeaks. "I waited until after 9 where you are." she adds apologetically. Katniss glances at the clock to see its 9:07am.

"No it's okay. I had an emergency surgery last night. I didn't get home until almost four."

"Oh Katniss, you work too hard," she scolds in her cheery voice, and it makes Katniss smile.

"So what's new with you?" she asks her sister.

"I saw my first case of ebola!" she squeals, causing Katniss to chuckle out loud.

"Sounds delightful." She listens intently as her sister recounts the gruesome details of this case while she's over in Nigeria doing a pre-med internship with Doctors Without Borders."That's awesome, Prim," she praises when the woman finishes the tale.

"So what's new with you?" Prim asks eagerly. Katniss sighs at the question, but regrets the action immediately.

"What's going on?" The sisters have always been close, especially in the years since their parents' deaths. She knows the subtle gesture revealed more than she was ready to. Katniss gnaws on her bottom lip, trying to decide if she should tell Prim about Peeta.

"I met a guy," she blurts out. She can hear her sister gasp on the other end, and she rolls her eyes.

"Oh my god! Kaaaaatniiiiiissssssss! Oh my god, oh my god, who!?" Katniss groans at her sister's enthusiasm.

"His name is Peeta."

"Jesus, Katniss that Boston accent is really starting to set in." It takes her a second to figure out what her sister means, but then huffs in frustration.

"No, it's not Peter; it is actually Peeta. P-E-E-T-A."

"Ah, well what does he look like?"

"Um, well, blond hair, bright blue eyes, muscular but not too much, and he's, oh god Prim he's gorgeous, gah!" Her sister giggles in her ear.

"Ok, where did you meet him?"

Katniss stops at the question, knowing her sister will give her shit for the answer. "Um, his dog is one of my patients."

"Katniss!" Prim admonishes. "You can't date your patients' owners...can you?"

"Well, that's just it Prim, we aren't dating." She sighs and then explains everything to the girl on the other line, ending with the text message from last night.

"Oh wow, it sounds like he likes you as much as you like him."

"Oh yeah, how do you figure that?" Katniss asks.

"You really can't see how? Ok, well, I mean there was Dunkin Donuts, the muffins that were just for you, the half hot chocolate-half hazelnut which he obviously took time to figure out, then he went with you to the barbeque and then he tried to kiss you and then still sent you drunken texts. Katniss, you two have it bad for each other."

"I mean, but..."

"But what?"

"I don't know, I mean, I gave him cheek."

"So," Prim interjects, "and he still gave you his number and even texted you to tell you he wished you were out getting drunk with him"

"I mean I know that, but, well, my residency..."

"Oh god, Katniss, no...just no. All your life you have always been obsessed with making it to the next goal. First it was high school, then college, then medical school, and now it's your residency, and next it'll be you studying for your ACVS, and it will be something after that. You are so focused on the next step that you don't take any time to enjoy all the stuff that happens in between." Her sister sighs deeply. "After mom and dad died, you told me how much you wished you had enjoyed the time you had with them, but you're doing the same thing now."

For a moment they are silent; the emotion of mentioning their parents is still at times raw for both of them.

"Listen, Katniss, I love you, but you are boring and I just need you to start enjoying yourself."

"You need me to?" Katniss says with a chuckle.

"Yes, I do," her sister says in mock seriousness. "Promise me you will try, promise me you will start making decisions that will make you happy, please."

"Ok, Prim, I promise," she relents.

"Oh good, now tell me how Buttercup is doing." As if the ornery cat can hear his mama's voice through the phone, the chubby orange Persian comes plodding out of Katniss's bedroom. He gives Katniss a once-over before sticking his squashed nose into the air and walking right out of the room again.

"I don't even notice he's here half the time," she admits to her sister. It's true; her and Prim's cat manage to coexist without much interaction, and both seem to like that just fine. Despite being a vet, Katniss is not much of a cat person, and usually when there is something between her and Buttercup, it's bad. Once Katniss stepped on a particularly fresh hairball that Buttercup left on the black shag rug in the bathroom. Another time the cat left a dead mouse in her bed, and although this can be a normal thing for any cat to do, the fat Persian mutilated the corpse first, leaving blood splotches and tiny entrails all over her bed, and she had to throw that sheet set away.

"Oh good. Thank you so much for taking care of him while I've been gone."

"I can't wait for you to come home," she says wistfully, dismissing Prim's comment.

"I'll be home in a couple of months."

"I know." She sighs. "I just miss you."

"I miss you too."

Katniss talks to her sister for another 20 minutes before she has to hang up and get ready for her afternoon shift. Right before she walks out the door, she remembers Peeta's text from the previous night. She pulls out her phone.

_I wish I had seen this last night. I hope you got home alright and that your head isn't hurting too much. Hope you're having a good weekend. :)_

Katniss hits send and then heads to work.

* * *

Katniss sits in the big comfy black chair in Johanna's apartment, nursing a Blue Moon and trying to ignore her friend's pension for stripping right in front of her.

"So where are we going tonight?" Katniss asks while trying to look away from Johanna's freed breasts as she changes bras for the third time. Katniss has every other Friday off, so she and her friends usually take the opportunity to go out drinking, since Katniss is not on call.

"Um," Johanna begins while strapping her boobs in, "I think the plan is to go somewhere near Annie and Finn." Her answer makes Katniss pause. The gang has never left the city on their Friday excursions... ever.

"Why?"

"Well," Johanna studies her profile in the mirror after putting on a tight black v-neck shirt. "Because we never go into Salem to drink, but I guess there are a lot of places there that Finn says are legit."

Now Katniss knows something is up. One of the major reasons why she and her friends never leave the city on nights like this is because Johanna will bitch and complain about not wanting to take the train until finally the Odairs relent to go into Boston

"And you're okay with this?" Katniss asks in a measured tone.

"Obviously, Brainless," she says before kicking off her gray skirt and walking into her closet again. "Plus," she calls out when she's out of sight, "maybe you could ask your boy with the muffins to join us." Katniss groans. "What?" Johanna peeks her head from around the door.

"It's just..."

"Just what?" her friend challenges.

"Gah, I totally embarrassed myself."

"Agreed, but he still drunk-texted you, so you couldn't have made that bad of an impression." Katniss thinks back to the adorable, misspelled message, and allows herself a small smile. After her return text, she didn't hear back from him until that night.

_I did get home alright, thanks for asking. I'm sorry we missed each other._

But she hasn't heard from him since, and with her week being as busy as it was, she never thought to reach out again.

"I don't know, Jo." She can hear the defeat in her own voice. She looks up just in time to see that Johanna has emerged from her closet, now clad in tight dark jeans and is rolling her eyes at Katniss.

"Come on, we'll talk about it when we get there." And before she can protest, her friend is dragging her out the door.

* * *

Katniss is happy to see their destination—a bar/restaurant called Tavern in the Square, otherwise knows as TITS, according to Finn. When she looks up at Gale, she sees the same relief on his face. Johanna hasn't stopped bitching since they stepped out onto the platform at North Station. It was a long train ride.

"Over here!" Finnick yells from across the crowded bar area, gesturing with his hand. He and Annie are seated with drinks at a table next to the window. Katniss, Johanna and Gale approach the table and climb into the stools around it. It is not lost on Katniss that there is an extra seat.

"So who are we expecting?" She gestures to the empty stool, wanting to get this out of the way. Finnick glaces at Katniss before shooting Johanna a confused look.

"She knows who the stool is for; don't look at me like that." Johanna barks. Katniss looks down, still annoyed that her friends have been plotting behind her back.

"What would be the harm in just texting him to see if he's around?" She glances up to see Annie smiling sweetly at her. "I mean he is practically up the street." she adds. Katniss catches Finnick nodding wildly next to his wife, and in a last ditch effort she looks to Gale, who is always the voice of reason, but he betrays her with a shrug.

"Go for it, Kat," he says with a small smirk.

"Fine," she snaps, then pulls out her phone and types a message to Peeta, letting him know where they are and asking if he wants to join them. She is nervous as she hits send, but as the time ticks by and his response never comes, her nerves yield to the sting of disappointment, which she proceeds to try and drown with round after round of whiskey sours.

Katniss eventually forgets about her quiet phone and begins to start unwinding and having fun after a brutal week. Haymitch had her schedule stacked to the brim, and the other surgery resident has been out with the flu since Monday.

The group orders their last rounds and agree to move the party back to the Odairs' house where everyone plans on spending the night. When they walk outside and begin moving up the street a ways to wait for their cab, Katniss feels her phone vibrate in her pocket. Her hands, clumsy with alcohol, fumble the phone from her jeans.

_Sounds like a lot of fun, sorry I couldn't make it. _She smiles at the message, and the irony of their bad timing, and at the bravery she feels coursing through her veins. Then she remembers the promise she made Prim—to just go for it. She stops walking.

"How do I get to Peeta's coffee shop from here?" She calls out to her friends, who are a few feet ahead of her now. She laughs out loud at the way the four of them turn in unison, wearing the same confused look on their faces.

"Um." Annie looks around. "Take a left onto Derby, and it's about ten blocks up the street on your right." Katniss nods her appreciation and then begins walking past the stunned group.

"Kitty Kat," Finnick calls to her. "Do you want us to come with you?" Katniss just waves dismissively back at him.

"No, I'll be ok, thanks."

"Do you want us to wait somewhere for you?" Johanna asks.

"No, it's cool I'll meet you back at the house," she calls over her shoulder.

"Kat." Gale's voice is what stops her in her tracks. She swivels around and sees their concern for her unorthodox actions.

"Fuck guys, I'm an adult. I'll be ok, and I'll meet up with you later," she insists, and before they can question her actions again, she stalks off up the street.

A combination of nerves, adrenaline, alcohol and Prim's words fuel her. As her heart pumps furiously in her chest, she realizes how drunk she actually is. She doesn't blame her friends for being surprised—she herself is surprised, but while a sober Katniss would second-guess herself to death, an intoxicated Katniss couldn't give a shit.

Because really what could go wrong?

She begins giggling uncontrollably when Mellark's comes into sight. She glances at her cell—11:05pm—and she wonders if they are still open. When she gets to the door, she spots that the lights are still on, and there is a woman behind the counter, looking down at something. Katniss wraps her fingers around the door handle and is ecstatic when she finds it unlocked. She takes a deep breath and lets her liquid courage push her over the threshold.

"Um, we're closed," says the gorgeous and vaguely familiar-looking redhead behind the counter.

"Oh...ah... I'm sorry, um is Peeta here?" she asks and hopes the woman doesn't realize how drunk she is. The redhead looks surprised and then her mouth pulls into a thin line. It is at then that moment Katniss realizes where she recognizes her from. "Has anyone ever told you...look just like the...Bruins' locker room reporter?" She stumbles through her words.

The woman responds with a curt smile. "Who are you?" she asks, a heavy edge to her voice. Katniss tries her best to work through the fog in her brain to try and decipher what she did to offend the person in front of her.

"Um, Katniss?" she answers.

"Are you not sure?" The woman's condescending tone grates at Katniss's nerves.

"I'm sorry...um...is Peeta here?" She hopes that if she asks the question again, this unexpected interrogation will be over.

"Sure." She sneers. "Let me get him." When she turns around, Katniss starts feeling like something is off, and she curses the amount she drank earlier because she is sure the situation would be quite obvious to a less inebriated version of her.

"Peeta." The redhead calls through the open door that leads out back, all the while intently staring at Katniss.

Katniss can feel her heartbeat in her throat as she waits nervously for Peeta to appear.

"What?" the blond asks as he walks through the door. Lavinia gestures with a hand towards Katniss. Peeta turns and for that perfect moment when his eyes meet hers, she starts to feel better; for the briefest of seconds, she and Peeta are the only ones there, nothing else matters in her addled brain, that is until a look of sheer panic spreads across his face, and suddenly in a moment of clarity, it all makes sense to her. Her eyes dart between Peeta and the woman next to him.

"She's your..."

"...Girlfriend." Lavinia finishes for her, although Katniss was going to add 'ex' to it." Katniss catches Peeta flinch slightly.

"Oh fuck." She drags out the 'O' and the 'F' like Ralphie from_ A Christmas Story_ then pinches her temple with her thumb and forefinger and closes her eyes. Suddenly the whole situation is unbelievable humorous, and she feels like it's either laugh or cry so a giggle turns into a chuckle which turns into a full-bodied laugh. The only thing that stops her is when she feels something tug on the sleeve of her jacket. When she pulls her fingers away and wipes tears of laughter off her face, she looks down to see Charlie staring up at her, his brown eyes wide, his pink tongue hanging out of his mouth in a gentle pant.

"Hi Charlie," she whispers then crouches down to pet him vigorously around the neck and head.

"She knows Charlie?" the redhead asks a dumbstruck Peeta.

"Uh..."

"I'm his doctor," Katniss finishes for him. She glances up and when her brain finally registers that Peeta hasn't uttered a single word to her, she realizes how foolish this visit has been, and how stupid she must look—a drunk veterinarian petting a dog.

She leans over and kisses the kind chocolate lab on the top of the head and sighs deeply before standing up. Her movement must have been too fast because she suddenly feels off balance, and she is sure she is going for the _coup de gras_ by falling face first in front of Peeta and his beautiful girlfriend, but instead something steadies her, a hand on her elbow. When she turns, she finds herself looking into two sad-looking pools of deep blue. She nervously glances over Peeta's shoulder and finds the woman staring at the place where she and Peeta connect. Katniss pulls away.

"I'm going to go...sorry," she mumbles before moving around Peeta and pushing her way out the front door. Once outside she finds she has to gulp for air as the panic attack she has been fending off hits her with full force. With her breathing erratic and her stomach contents churning, she knows what's coming next and runs over to the public trash barrel outside the coffee shop just in time to vomit.

"Thanks Prim," she croaks into the barrel when her heaving has subsided. She stands up, still feeling drunk, but at least the sick feeling is gone. She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and glances into the shop's window. She regrets that decision when she can see Peeta and his gorgeous girlfriend staring back at her. "Fuck me," she mutters before walking down the road, hoping it will lead anywhere but here.

"Katniss." She hasn't even made it ten feet when she hears Peeta calling from behind her. She turns around and sees him jogging towards her.

"Peeta!" his girlfriend yells as she walks hurriedly out of the bakery. Peeta pauses for a moment, allowing the woman to catch up with him. "What are you doing?" she demands.

"I'm driving her home," he replies calmly.

"No you are not."

"Vi, she just fucking vomited and she's having a hard time walking. I'm driving her home." He goes to move away from her, but she grabs his arm.

"You can't drive the girl you've been fucking while we were taking a break home." Katniss watches Peeta's jaw clench angrily as he wrenches his arm away.

"I haven't fucked her. She's my friend, and we weren't on a goddamn break—you broke up with me," he says through gritted teeth. He glances over at Katniss. "Are you going to Boston?" His girlfriend's eyes go wide.

"Ah...no...ah...I'm staying at Finnick and Annie's," Katniss answers. Peeta nods.

"Who are Finnick and Annie?" Lavinia breaks in. "How do you know these people?"

Peeta rubs his temples with his fingers. "Lavinia," he says with a sigh, his shoulders slumping.

"No, uh uh, you wouldn't do anything with me, and you completely ditched me when I needed you, but I'm gone a couple of weeks and you've made yourself a whole new set of friends? What the fuck, Peeta?"

"Are we seriously going to talk about this right now? Because maybe we should have talked about this before..."

Katniss isn't sure if Peeta's sentence just trailed off or if she had just moved out of range; all she knows she can't stop giggling at their argument and she needs to get away from them. As she tries to figure out what she finds so damn funny about the situation, she takes a corner past the maritime museum by the wharf and there docked in front of her is a large antique boat. At first, she just stares at the vessel in front of her, but then she lets her eyes flutter shut and begins to sway her body as she tries to imagine sailing on such a boat, in the middle of the Atlantic, lost in a storm.

"It's called_ the Friendship_." Peeta's voice from behind startles her, and the act of opening her eyes while spinning causes her to stutter-step to regain her balance. He reaches out a hand to help her, but she ignores it.

"What?" she asks.

"The ship." He gestures behind her. "It's called _the Friendship_. It's an exact replica of one built in the late 1700's.

"Oh." She nods and turns back to look at the black and gold-trimmed boat behind her.

"Shall we?" She looks back at Peeta to find him gesturing for her to follow him.

"Peeta." She says with an over-exaggerated sigh. "I'm not getting a ride from you."

"Why not?" he questions.

"Ahh...because...ahh..." Her speech is clumsy as she searches for the right words. "Because it makes me uncomfortable," she says defiantly and watches as a look of hurt flashes across his face.

His eyes have darkened in the night, but every once in awhile, the moonlight catches them and they sparkle.

_Why is he so good looking?_ She laments to herself as she unabashedly stares at him, and her resolve begins to crumble, but before she can give in, Peeta speaks up.

"Listen, Katniss, if you are uncomfortable being in a car with me I understand, but I am going to make sure you get back okay, and if that means driving along next to you as you walk home, then that's what I'm going to do." He looks so serious, but what he said is so absurd that the combination sets Katniss off into another fit of giggles.

"Oh my god, can you imagine?" she says in between her laughter. "Yeah that wouldn't look shady." Her hands find her sides as she laughs loudly. At first Peeta looks annoyed.

"I'm serious." But the corners of his mouth betray him and begin to turn up. "Stop it," he attempts to scold her, but by this time Katniss is gasping for air, and tears are running down her cheeks. Peeta rolls his eyes in mock disdain, but waits for her to calm herself. When she does she wipes off her cheeks and smirks at the blond in front of her.

"Fine, lets go." She relents and Peeta smiles triumphantly, and she follows him, only stumbling once or twice. When they get to his Jeep, he opens the passenger side door for her, and she sighs longingly at the gesture. She slides into the Jeep, and Peeta closes the door for her once she is settled. He's pulled out of his lot before Katniss speaks again.

"You know, it's not that I was uncomfortable being in a car with you, it's just that... I've gotten you into trouble enough for one night." She can see the relief on his face just by gazing at his profile. "I'm sorry."

Peeta glances at her confused. "What are you apologizing for?" he asks.

"I should have called or something, texted you to let you know I was coming."

"Katniss, no. I should be apologizing to you. I should... I should have told you what was going on."

"You don't owe me anything," Katniss mumbles quietly. There is a pregnant pause between them, and although she is feeling a little less drunk, her bravado hasn't faded yet. "She's beautiful, your... girlfriend."

Peeta sighs out loud. "Yes she is," he answers solemnly.

"She looks like the Bruins' locker room reporter."

Peeta chuckles. "Yeah, that's because she is." Katniss's eyes go wide.

"Shut the fuck up! Are you serious?" Her reaction causes Peeta to laugh louder. He nods as she gawks at him. "Jesus fucking christ, I never had a chance, huh?" She realizes what she has said the moment it slips from her lips, but her altered state of mind doesn't allow her to regret it. Peeta is quiet though—too quiet—and the slight flutter of nerves begins to bubble in her gut.

"What do you mean?" he finally asks, his voice strained.

"I mean I am nothing compared to her." She sighs wistfully.

"Don't say that."

"Why not? It's the truth" Peeta takes a sudden sharp left and pulls his car over on the side of the road, he puts the car into park and turns to look at her.

"It's not," he states, and his blue eyes bore into hers.

"She's beautiful," Katniss says.

"So are you," Peeta counters, and Katniss can feel her cheeks heat.

"She's successful."

"So are you," he says frustratedly, and it pisses Katniss off to no end. Why is he making this so difficult?

"Yeah, well, she's your girlfriend." Katniss tries to ignore the way her own words hurt her. "And I'm not." Even though she mumbles the last part, she knows Peeta hears her, just by the way his eyes widen, his mouth falls open, and by the sad expression he wears. Katniss sits back in her seat, suddenly feeling like she is going to throw up again. Her fingers smash the keys of the radio above the center console, trying to find a distraction. Peeta must realize the conversation is over because he starts the car again.

She scans the stations, finally landing on a familiar song that makes her laugh out of irony, and when the chorus begins to play she joins in.

"I know who I want to take me home, I know who I want to take me home, I know who I want to take me home, take me hoooome." Peeta flicks the knob, and lowers the volume abruptly.

"I'm sorry," he begins. "I'm sorry that I'm not...that I'm...I'm sorry I didn't..." Katniss doesn't want to hear Peeta apologize to her for being with the person he wants to be with or for some other made up reason to make her feel better so she ignores him and turns the volume back up. The music is loud enough for her to sing along with the last line of the song.

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."

Peeta doesn't try apologizing again.

* * *

They sit silently in Peeta's Jeep as it sits parked outside of Annie and Finnick's house. Moments earlier she wanted out of this situation, but now that she has her opportunity she is finding it hard to move. After Peeta turns off the car, he rests his forehead against the steering wheel, and Katniss becomes mesmerized by the rising and falling of his back.

"That text you sent me...when you were out drinking," Katniss begins, "were you back with her then?" Peeta lifts his head up and looks at her with alarm.

"No." He shakes his head emphatically. Katniss closes her eyes and sighs.

She hears a sound coming from the house; she opens her eyes and spots Johanna lighting up a cigarette on the front porch, a habit her friend only indulges in when she's drunk. When Johanna spots Katniss and Peeta, she waves and begins walking towards the car. The nausea returns when Katniss realizes that now she will have to face her friends.

"Hey guys," Johanna greets. "Nice to see you, Blondie," she says when she dips her head to look into the car.

"You too, Johanna," Peeta returns with a smile.

"So you guys coming inside, or...?" She smirks and waggles her eyebrows suggestively. Katniss groans.

"Actually I have to get going. I just wanted to make sure Katniss got back to you guys ok," Peeta replies. Johanna looks at him confused.

"He has to get back to his girlfriend," Katniss adds, causing Johanna's eyes to snap to hers.

"Oh," Johanna mutters. "Well, um... I'll leave you guys alone then." She looks to Katniss for approval, who nods. Before her friend leaves them she turns and waves. "See you Peeta." He gives her a small wave in return. Katniss is grateful when she sees that Johanna hasn't actually moved that far from the Jeep.

"Well, I guess..." But she trails off. She knows she should just get out of the car because the longer she stays, the harder it's going to be to say goodbye, but all she can think about is that stupid conversation with her stupid sister and the stupid promise she made which has already caused her problems.

_But a promise is a promise, _she thinks to herself. So using the last of the alcohol coursing through her veins as an excuse, she leans over to take one last thing from Peeta.

Her lips meet his, and she is startled by how warm and soft they are, and she is even more surprised that instead of his mouth being stiff against hers like she expected, it has quickly melded to hers, so she ventures to go further. Her tongue wets the seam of his lips and with a soft moan, he allows her access and as soon as the tip of her tongue touches his, he moves his hands to her face, dragging his calloused thumbs against her cheekbones, and the kiss morphs into something else, something more frantic.

Their tongues thrash against each other as they explore the entirety of the other's mouth. The kiss makes Katniss's heart beat wildly and all she wants is more, more, more. She moves herself closer to him using her hands to push herself up with his seat's armrest. She sucks his sweet-tasting bottom lip into her mouth and nibbles on it lightly, causing him to groan. The sound, which shoots right down to her core, causes moisture to accumulate between her thighs, but it also snaps her to attention. She pulls back slightly, releasing his lip from her mouth, and his hands slide off her face. She bows her head, her forehead barely grazing his chin, her breathing erratic. She could fall in love with this man, very easily, and because of that she needs to leave now.

"I'm sorry," she whispers, feeling guilty for what she has just done. "But I had to try that once..." She pauses and takes a shuddering breath. "I should have done that after the barbeque... thanks for the ride... bye Peeta." She pulls away entirely and exits the car before waiting to see if he responds. She meets Johanna's flabbergasted gaze right away.

"Wha...?" Her friend starts, but Katniss cuts her off right away.

"Not now, Jo" and to her surprise, her usually loud-mouthed friend keeps her mouth shut.

"Katniss." She hears Peeta call to her, and she turns to see him hanging out the passenger side window, looking around frantically like he doesn't know what to say, and she doesn't know what to say back, so instead she tries to smile reassuringly at him and then turns away. She waits until she hears his car start before she looks back.

Her fingers gently touch her lips, which still tingle, as she watches him drive away. _Why is this bothering me so much? _she asks herself, not really wanting to know the answer. When Peeta's Jeep is finally out of sight, she drops her fingers and looks at Jo.

"Are you ok?" Johanna asks. But all Katniss can do is shrug, give a half-hearted smile, and then burst into tears. Johanna pulls her into her arms as Katniss sobs over the loss of something she never had to begin with.

* * *

_**Visit me on Tumblr: Streetlightlove1 (I'll post a picture of that ship)**_

_**Thanks for reading!**_


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone! Thanks so much again for your continued support of this story! I am soooo overwhelmed by the response...You are all sooo amazing I just can't stand it! 3**

**A Special thanks to Court81981 and Pookieh! For their constant hand holding and attention to detail and just plain awesomeness they bring to the table! **

**And here it is!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Katniss nervously smoothes down her brown tweed skirt as she arrives at Faneuil Hall. Her throat feels parched, and she wishes she had thought to pack a bottle of water in her bag. If it had actually been up to her she would have prefered to stay home, dressed in her favorite fleece pajama pants and her oversized Bad Religion t- shirt, curled up on the couch, finishing off that lonely pint of Ben and Jerry's Chubby Hubby that she has tucked away in the freezer.

But when Annie asked her to be here today, all she had to do was think back to the sad expression on her face when Katniss had walked into the house after kissing Peeta with tear streaks on her cheeks. She knew she didn't have it in her to say no.

Her friends had listened intently as she sniffled and hiccuped her way through the mortifying tale of how she ended up kissing Peeta—with puke mouth no less while Johanna rubbed her back the entire time. Finnick looked utterly confused. Gale looked like he wanted to hit something, and Annie—sweet, sweet Annie—well, her eyes were glossy with unshed tears and her bottom lip trembled the entire time. And when Katniss had finally finished, Annie pulled her into a hug so genuine that Katniss broke down into tears once again.

So that's why she is here, walking into the large gray stone building labeled Quincy Market, heading to her first date in years. She slowly approaches the area filled with wooden benches where people eat the food they've purchased from the variety of counters that line the long hallway.

Katniss scans the room, until she catches sight of the familiar red head. Her stomach churns uncomfortably, but when Darius spots her and smiles wide, she tries to reciprocate the best she can.

She knew it was only because of how upset she had been that her friends stifled their laughter when she told them she had no idea Darius was at the barbeque to be set up with her.

"_To be honest I thought he was gay," _she had told them, eliciting a snort from Johanna.

"Hey, Kat" Darius stands to greet her as she approaches the table.

"Hey, Darius," she returns before awkwardly looking down, not knowing what to do next.

"Um." Darius sounds as nervous as she feels. "Do you want to sit down, or get food first?"

"Let's get food," she chimes in a little too eagerly, causing both of them to chuckle nervously before they start walking towards the food vendors. They silently pace the crowded hall twice before Darius decides on getting food from a Thai place, and Katniss purchases a New England clam chowder in a bread bowl, which he tries to pay for but Katniss refuses.

They find an empty bench to sit down at, and for the first few minutes they quietly shovel food in their mouths until Darius breaks the silence.

"So... your residency is up soon, right?"

"Yeah." She wipes her mouth with a napkin. "I'm done at the end of this year."

"That's awesome. What's next for you after that?"

"Well I study for my ACVS's in February."

"What's that?"

"Um, it's my surgeon certification test." Darius nods in understanding. "Then after that, I can only hope Abernathy will give me a staff position."

"He'd be a fool not to," he jumps in. "You're an amazing surgeon." Katniss can feel herself blush at the compliment.

"Thanks," she mumbles into her lap. "So," she begins eager to change the subject, "what do you do besides...?"

"Besides taking X-rays for pretty doctors?"

Katniss rolls her eyes at his words, but still smiles in spite of herself. "Yes, besides that."

"No much really. I hang out with friends. Me and my guy friends do—I don't know—guy things I guess."

"And what constitutes _guy things_?" Katniss asks with a quirked eyebrow.

"Well, we have... you know... 'Call of Duty' tournaments." Katniss snort.

"I bet I could kick any of your asses in 'Call of Duty'," she says with a smirk.

"Hey, that's not fair, " Darius protests. "You hunt in real life."

"Please." Katniss rolls her eyes. "A Playstation controller is not the same thing as a gun."

"We play on X-Box," Darius interjects.

"Oh god, really?" Katniss looks at him in mock disgust for a few seconds before dissolving into laughter with Darius close behind her.

When she has gained control, she takes a good look at the man seated in front of her. He _is _handsome, and sweet, and she does feel comfortable with him, and just going by his decision to discuss his video game tournaments on a first date means he is probably as socially awkward as she is. So why isn't any of this registering with her?

_He's no Peeta. _Her traitorous mind pipes in, and she mentally scolds herself for having the thought, but she cannot deny that Peeta has occupied almost every thought she has had since the night she found out what his tongue really tasted like. She tries to shake the thought away, but she knows it's useless because they never leave. And she knows it is stupid and childish and unhealthy to think of him as much as she does, but she has yet to find a way to prevent these thoughts from creeping in.

In the hours following her drunken kiss with Peeta she had been absolutely humiliated for acting the way she did, especially since he was back together with his girlfriend...his gorgeous girlfriend.

Then when she woke up the next day with one hell of a hangover she started to see things differently. After all it was Peeta who had asked her if he could see her again and who had tried to kiss her that day after the barbeque, so was it really out of line for her to think there was something at least building between them?

But it didn't really matter whether she was embarrassed or mad or sad; there was always this underlying longing associated with him that seems to get stronger the more removed from that kiss she is. Her thoughts right before falling asleep at night are always focused on the way his mouth felt against hers and the way his calloused fingers felt as they dragged over her cheeks, and the overwhelming hunger she felt when her lips were on his.

She knew she should just forget about it, that Peeta Mellark wasn't meant for her. She knew eventually she would feel differently about him, but that day is not today and when the date between her and Darius ends, she gives him a grateful hug and goes home alone. And try as she might not to do so, she thinks of Peeta as she falls asleep that night.

XXXX

Peeta stares down at his phone for the 100th time since he and Charlie started their daily walk around the block. He keeps looking at it hoping, but for what he's not sure. All he knows is that he can't get Katniss Everdeen out of his head.

That night when he returned from dropping Katniss off at her friend's house he was in a daze. That kiss...god that kiss was unlike any kiss he had ever had before . It just felt so... right.

Of course it wasn't right. That need he felt for her was completely wrong; after all he was back together with Lavinia. At least it seemed that way. When Lavinia came back into his life, they really didn't talk about anything, she was just...there, and it was all too easy for Peeta to sink back into the familiar routine that took years for them to perfect. But now it's all a mess because he can't stop thinking about Katniss.

_I had to try that once, _she had said after pulling her lips from his, lowering her head, so he couldn't see her face. He had wanted to tilt her head back up and claim her lips again, tell her it was going to be okay, that he would figure something out, that he thought he could get better with her. But she refused to look at him, and he was too much of a coward to touch her again.

And so she got out of his car and walked out of his life, and even though Peeta knows it's for the best, that he is an emotional mess that she doesn't need, he can't help selfishly looking to his phone, hoping for a text from Katniss, or for the courage to reach out to her, but so far neither has come.

After the kiss, Peeta had decided the first thing he needed to do was go home and break things off with Lavinia, for good this time. He cared about Lavinia, but the feelings that were conjured in him by that single kiss from Katniss were feelings that he hadn't felt with Lavinia in a long time—if ever. It was unfair of him to use her the way he has because even though she is the one who came back to him, he took her back for a completely selfish reason: he didn't want to be alone.

When he arrived home, however, the condo had been empty except for a note from Lavinia informing him that she was staying with friends. She has been on the road with the Bruins in the four days following, and hasn't answered any of his phone calls and only half of his texts, but he knows she will be home tonight, and he will talk with her then.

A whimper breaks Peeta from his thoughts. When he looks down, he sees Charlie limping, the surgical area and his leg both looking more swollen than usual. Peeta drops to his knees.

"What's going on, boy?" he asks as his hands gently probe the area, Charlie moves away, but before he does, Peeta can feel how warm the skin is. "Lie down, Charlie," he instructs, and the dog obeys, lying on his left side. Peeta pulls out his phone and scrolls down his contacts until he brings up the number for 'Mockingjay Animal Hospital,' which he had programmed into his phone as soon as he brought Charlie home from surgery. Peeta hits the call button and then works his way through the automated menu before finally being connected to the front desk.

"Mockingjay Animal Hospital, this is Kim how can I help you?" A female voice chimes in on the other line.

"Uh, hi, Kim. My dog had surgery there about a month ago, and I noticed today on our walk that the the leg is swollen."

"Oh ok, what kind of surgery was it?"

"He had hip surgery."

"And who is your doctor?"

"Kat... um Dr. Everdeen.

"Ok, well unfortunately she isn't on today," Peeta's stomach twists and he begins to feel panicky, "But the other resident has openings if you would like to see him instead."

"Yeah that's fine." He is grateful for the other option, but still doesn't feel good about not seeing Katniss for Charlie's—and his—sake.

"Ok, can I have your last name."

"Mellark"

"And your pet's name?"

"Charlie."

"Ok, Mr. Mellark. Dr. Beetee has an appointment at 12:30. That's about an hour from now...do you think you could make it."

"Yeah, that shouldn't be a problem."

"Well then we will see you and Charlie in a little while."

"Ok, thank you, Kim, bye." He hangs up the phone and looks down at Charlie, who is gazing up at him with a defeated look on his face. "Don't worry, Charlie. We'll get you fixed up." He then leans down and lifts the dog into his arms. He walks around the corner, loads him into his jeep and makes the drive into Boston.

XXXX

Peeta bites his thumb nail as he nervously watches the young male doctor perform a physical on his dog. Right away, he notices Dr. Beetee is not as gentle as Katniss is, having already made Charlie yelp a couple of times, which almost caused Peeta to lunge at him. He's also not as personable, as he has barely acknowledged Peeta's presence.

"Well, sometimes inflammation like this can be a sign that the plate was not placed correctly," he says in a nasally know-it-all type voice.

"That's not the problem." Peeta snaps. The doctor studies him curiously for a moment before he shrugs and stands up.

"Well can I ask what you were doing when you noticed the limping." He pushes his glasses back up his nose.

"We were on our walk..."

"Oh," he says with a smug look on his face. He chuckles to himself and pulls a prescription pad out of the drawer he stands next to. "Well I guess it's safe to say that this is just a matter of overexerting the hip. I'm going to write you a prescription for an antiinflammatory, and from now until your six-week recheck appointment, let's try and cut down on activity." Peeta looks at him confused.

"I mean we've only been going around..."

"Just cut it in half, ok?" he tells Peeta in a dismissive tone as he hands him the piece of paper, which Peeta takes before walking out of the exam room. Once out, he looks down to Charlie. When they had walked in Charlie actually seemed happy to be here, but now he looks miserable.

"I know, boy, you were hoping to see Katniss, weren't you?" Charlie starts panting at the sound of her name, which makes Peeta sigh. "Yeah, me too," he says before picking up Charlie and bringing him to the car. Once inside he pulls out his phone, wondering if he should shoot her a text, and let her know about Charlie, but he decides against it, knowing that she probably wants nothing to do with him, and quickly shoves it back into his pocket.

XXXX

Charlie spends the rest of the day in Peeta's office down in the coffee shop, curled up on the floor while Peeta works through payroll and places supply orders.

That evening when he walks into his apartment, Charlie in his arms, he finds Lavinia sitting on the couch. When she sees him, she greets him with a small smile. Peeta brings Charlie into his bedroom and places him on the bed before walking back into the room with his girlfriend.

"Hi," Peeta says when she looks up at him.

"Listen, Peeta we need to talk."

"Yeah we do." Lavinia quirks an eyebrow at him quickly before her face goes blank once again. Peeta sinks into the armchair on the other side of the coffee table. He folds his hands as he leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Lavinia..." he begins, but the red-head waves a hand to stop him.

"Can I go first?" He sighs, but nods and sits back in the chair.

"I received some great news today." She smiles. "I was offered a position at ESPN," she says breathlessly.

"Oh my god, Lavinia!" His mouth flies open in shock. "Congratulations, seriously that is really great." She gives him a shy smile as she looks down.

"Thanks, Peet."

"So," he begins nervously. "What does this mean for us?" And just like that, the smile and warmth is gone from the room.

"Ah..." Her hands clasp tight in her lap. "I...I just don't think long distance is going to work for us." She gives him a nonchalant shrug. Peeta knows she is just giving him an excuse, that like him, she wants to end this once and for all too, but he needs to hear her say it.

"We have practically been long distance since you started your job at NESN, what with all the travelling," he reminds her.

"Does it even matter to you?" Peeta tries to say something, but she continues. "With me gone you can go ahead and get nice and cozy with your dog's veterinarian."

"Lavinia!" he snaps. "This has nothing to do with Katniss, okay? We are talking about the state of _our_ relationship."

She snorts mirthlessly. "Relationship? We haven't had one of those in months." The truth of her words makes him pull up short. When she sees the hurt look on his face, she starts biting her bottom lip nervously. "I've been with someone else!" she blurts out, then closes her eyes. "It's only been a few times, but I...I wasn't happy, and you weren't..."

"You fucking cheated on me?" he asks almost incredulously as he stares at her wide-eyed, his jaw clenching and his fists tightening. "With who?" he growls

"I'm not going to tell you that." she whispers.

"Why the fuck...When, then?" he demands as his heart beats wildly in his chest.

"The first time was a couple of months ago. You hadn't gotten out of bed for a fucking week. I just couldn't do it anymore. I didn't sign on to be your fucking mother."

"Did it ever occur to you that something was wrong?…that I couldn't get out of bed because I was a fucking wreck? Maybe you forgot while you were fucking this other dude that the only family I had dropped dead in front of me." She narrows her eyes at him. \

"Don't you fucking start, Peeta Mellark. I did everything for you and you never gave a shit about any of it. The only one who got any attention from you was the dog!" she yells. Peeta bites his cheek to keep from yelling back.

"When else?" His tone is cold. Lavinia looks surprised by the request, but quickly composes herself.

"The night we broke up and then again when your drunk girlfriend showed up."

"Are you serious?" he hisses. "You fucked someone else that night?"

"You left with her!" she states defensively.

"Because she was drunk, Vi." He drags his fingers through his hair. "I was just making sure she got home alive."

"And you didn't want to fuck her?" She scowls. Peeta hesitates just long enough for a smirk to pull on her lips. "You know what, Peeta, you don't have to answer that because whether you are fucking her or not doesn't change the way you looked at her..." She takes a large gulp of air. "You've never looked at me that way." She stands up.

"Don't you dare turn this around on me. You are the one who fucked up. You are the one who has been fucking some other guy behind my back, don't fucking project your guilt back onto me," he says gruffly as he stands up as well.

"You know what, Peeta? I shouldn't have come back."

"Agreed."

"Well I'm leaving now; I'm moving to Connecticut next week, and I'll be out of your way and you can be free to hook up with the veterinarian. But just so you know she will eventually see just how fucked up you are, and she's a doctor. She's smarter than me, so she'll figure it out much quicker than I did."

"Get the fuck out." He gestures towards the door.

Lavinia walks out and slams the door behind her, leaving Peeta feeling angry and sad and confused. She is gone and he is alone again. He grabs a pillow off the couch and screams 'fuck' into it before flinging it across the room.

"I _am_ fucked up," he mumbles to himself as he scrubs his face with his hands and stalks into the bedroom. He can feel his heart beating in in his throat, the tips of his fingers, in his ears and behind his eyes.

Charlie lies on his side on the bed, and at first, Peeta thinks the dog is peacefully sleeping, but he quickly notices the lab's rapid breathing. When he rounds the bed, he sees that Charlie's eyes are open, but he doesn't respond to the frantic way Peeta calls his name or the way Peeta shakes his body. Peeta doesn't hesitate to take the dog into his arms, grab his keys and race frantically to his car.

* * *

**I'm going to go throw up now...OK?**

**Thanks for reading!**

**You can visit me on Tumblr if you want... Streetlightlove1**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everyone! Thank you so much you beautiful people for just being perfect, supportive readers... I feel blessed!**

**A special thanks to Court81981 and Pookieh for being the em dashes to my abrupt change in thought... ILY both. But also to Court many thanks for being a great cheerleader and for giving me the confidence to stick with my original vision for this story - even if neither one of us liked it! haha!**

**Just a warning... There is a warning for this chapter, but for the sake of spoilers I won't tell you what it is... If you need to know tho feel free to PM me here or on Tumblr (streetlightlove1) And I will let you know what it is!**

**And with that... Enjoy!**

* * *

Katniss pulls the surgical mask off her face and plops into a chair in the surgery office. She wasn't surprised that she was called in to do emergency surgery this evening on a cat who was unable to urinate, as the warm weather seems to trigger these kind of issues in felines, but what annoys her is that the other resident on this morning— Dr. Beetee— was in a rush to get out today, and when the emergency came in not five minutes after his shift ended, instead of staying— like Katniss has done so many times before—he instead requested that she be paged.

She scrubs her face with her hands and her fingers find the plait of her braid, which she undoes quickly, dragging them through the hair and wincing when she hits a knot, before deftly braiding it once again. She has just wrapped the elastic around the end of the braid for the fifth time when the phone next to her on the desk begins to ring.

"Surgery," she says into the phone once the receiver is at her ear.

"Oh good." She hears Gale's frantic voice on the other line. "I was hoping you hadn't left yet."

Katniss groans. "Oh Christ, what came in now?" she whines.

"Kat," Gale barks.

"What?" Katniss snaps back

"Peeta's here...with Charlie."

"Oh." Anxiety builds in her stomach. "Is it this hip?" Katniss continues. "Do you need me to come look at it? If you do can I just check it out without…"

"Kat." Gale cuts her off and the seriousness in his tone makes her heart leap into her throat.

"What?" she quietly asks with nervous anticipation.

"Charlie… he had a stroke… We are about to put him to sleep."

"Wait...what?" Katniss gasps out with a breathy cry. "Oh my god." Katniss can feel her throat begin to tighten, and her hand flies to cover her mouth. "Is Charlie awake?"

"No," Gale responds softly. "He came in unresponsive."

"Oh," Katniss whispers as her eyes begin to sting. "How is Peeta?" Her voice cracks at his name.

"Um, he's a mess as you can imagine."

"He's with someone though, right?"

"Ah, no. When I asked him if he needed to call someone, he told me he didn't have anyone to call."

"Oh." Katniss can feel a tear splash onto her cheek. She knows how much Peeta loves Charlie, and she knows what's about to happen is going to destroy him. He needs someone there for support. "What room?"

"Katniss," he says her name in a warning.

"Damnit Gale, tell me the room number."

"I didn't call you for that. I called you because I thought you would want to know."

"And now I know, and now I want to know the goddamn room number." Gale remains quiet on the other end. "Gale…" she pleads. "Please." She can hear him huff in frustration.

"Triage 4," he tells her in a defeated tone.

"Thank you," she says hurriedly before hanging up the phone and sprinting out of the room.

It takes her less than a minute, but she soon stands in front of a door labeled with a black metal '4.' She realizes that she is shaking, and a knot of emotion has lodged itself in her throat as she thinks of who is behind this door. Her hand goes to the handle but she stops just short, letting it fall to her side again.

_I shouldn't be here_. She tells herself. _He didn't ask me to come. _ She is about to turn around and leave. _But this is Charlie, _she reminds herself. _Peeta shouldn't have to do this alone. _ So her hand reaches up again, but instead of going to the handle she first lightly knocks twice before opening the door.

She peeks her head through the small opening she has made and finds herself eye to eye with Peeta. His hair is a mess, probably from dragging his hands through it. His eyes are wide and bloodshot and his face seems void of color. He regards her like she's a ghost.

"Katniss?" His shaky voice is much higher than usual.

"Hi," she tries to speak calmly. "Is it ok if I come in?"

"Are you here to…?" He trails off and shuts his eyes tightly.

"No, um, I just wanted to… to see if you wanted me to be here when…"

Peeta's eyes fly open. Katniss can see his lower lip begin to tremble, and he

quickly bites down on it to cease the movement.

"You would do that?" he asks in quiet disbelief.

"Of course," she says as she walks fully into the room, closing the door shut

behind her. Once inside her eyes find Charlie lying on his side in a dog bed, a thick fleece blanket covering him. Her heart speeds up at the sight of it. She kneels next to the seemingly sleeping dog and pets his still head gently.

"I'm sorry, Charlie," she whispers under her breath, When she glances up at Peeta, she sees he has covered his eyes with his hand, his mouth screwed tight, and she can tell he is just barely keeping it together.

She stands up and slowly approaches him. When she is close enough, she reaches out and places her hand on his bent arm. He startles at the contact and rips his hand away from his face. His eyes are glassy as he regards her for a moment.

"Thank you," he mumbles. The room falls silent while they stand awkwardly facing each other, not knowing what to do. "Gale gave him something and said it was for pain, to calm him down. His breathing is much better now so I think it helped."

Katniss glances at Charlie. When she turns back, she finds Peeta has pressed himself against the wall, his expression riddled with fear.

"Do you want me to step out so you can have a few minutes alone with Charlie?"

Peeta shakes his head rapidly. "No, please stay." She nods and they fall silent again.

"What should I do?" he asks suddenly in a pleading voice.

"Um, why don't you talk to him?"

"About what?"

"Anything really," she assures him.

"Can he hear me?" She just offers him a small smile and a nod as an answer. So Peeta pushes himself off the wall and slowly edges himself towards Charlie. When he is standing next to the chocolate lab, he gets down to the floor and lays down next to the dog so that his mouth is near Charlie's ear.

Katniss watches the two of them, but she can't make out what Peeta is saying to Charlie, and in a way she is grateful. This moment should be between to two of them. Peeta talks for close to ten minutes before finally pushing himself up so he is on his knees. He bends over and kisses him gently on his head.

He walks over to her, stopping a few feet in front of her, and he shrugs and gives her a half-hearted smile. Katniss tries to give him a reassuring smile in return, but she knows it is coming out all wrong. A knock on the door causes them both to jump

Gale walks in and immediately notices Katniss's presence, but quickly shakes it off before turning to address Peeta.

"Are you ready?" Gale asks him.

"Um." He turns to Katniss, his expression panic stricken, his breath continuing to catch Katniss closes the distance between them and cups his cheeks with her hands. The look in his eyes is manic, and they won't stay focused on any one spot. She is sure he is having a panic attack.

"Look at me," she commands, and his bloodshot blue eyes snap to her. "You can do this. You can be strong for Charlie." She watches his lip tremble as he nods. "We'll do this together. Ok?"

"Together," he echoes, then takes a huge breath and Katniss can see his breathing start to calm, so she pulls away

"Do you want to sit next to Charlie when it happens?" Gale asks, but Peeta turns to Katniss.

"Is it ok if I stand here?"

"Yes." And she can see him let out a relieved sigh.

"This—" Gale gestures the syringe towards Peeta. "—is basically a large dose of anesthesia. I am going to give this to Charlie in his vein, and then it will happen quickly after that. Should take no more than a minute."

"Ok," Peeta answers in a gravelly voice. Gale nods to him and kneels down next to Charlie, taking his front leg, and he begins searching for a vein with his fingers.

"Delly gave him a whole slice of apple cake today," Peeta blurts out just as Gale is about to inject the needle, causing him to pause. "I mean he doesn't get it all the time obviously…but I'm glad he got it today." He gives Katniss a wistful smile.

"I bet he was happy too." Katniss chimes in, catching Gale's eye out of the corner of hers. She watches Peeta smile to himself, but then his face falls as he looks nervously at Gale.

"I can give you more time if you need," Gale says in a gentle voice. Peeta takes a deep breath and slowly shakes his head. Gale reaches for Charlie's leg once again.

"Wait!" Peeta gasps.

"Do you want more time, Peeta?" Katniss asks as her heart breaks for him.

"No, um. I just changed my mind. Can I still sit next to him when it happens?"

"Yeah." Gale gestures for him to come sit down on the other side of the sedated dog. As Gale begins to prep the injection site once more, Peeta begins scratching Charlie's ears affectionately.

"Charlie, you are the best dog ever. Do you hear me? Thank you so much for being there for me, for being there for dad all these years. I love you so much." Gale places the needle in Charlie's vein. Peeta takes a shuddering gulp of air when he sees this. "You're about to go somewhere, and I won't be able to follow you, but it's an awesome place, so if you see a light it's ok to follow it….ok?" His voice cracks, and Gale depresses the plunger. "And when you get there..." Peeta is barely audible now. "Go find Dad. He… he will take care of you. Tell him…" He takes a large breath and screws his eyes shut tight. "Tell him I said hi, ok? I love you, bud"

The tears have begun to freely spill from Katniss eyes, wetting her cheeks as she watches this man say goodbye to his best friend. Gale pulls the stethoscope off from around his neck, placing the buds in his ears before pressing the other end to Charlie's chest. He listens for a long time, and Katniss bites her lip nervously when she sees Gale remove the instrument from his ears.

"He's gone," Gale confirms.

"That's it?" Peeta whispers. "It's that quick?"

"I'm really sorry, Peeta."

"Um, I need some air...um."

"I'll walk with you." Katniss offers. Peeta nods to her before standing. He gestures towards the dog on the floor but doesn't look at him.

"Can he.. is he…?"

"We will keep him here until you get back," Gale assures him, and Peeta mouths a 'thank you' before walking out the door.

Katniss can barely keep up with Peeta as he strides quickly towards the main entrance of the hospital. He exits first, but Katniss walks out right behind him. She can just smell the night air when she is suddenly pulled against Peeta's chest, causing her to grunt at the impact. His arms wrap around her waist, pulling her tight against him. His face nuzzles into her neck, and she has just wrapped her own arms around Peeta when the sobs begin wracking his body. Katniss can't help crying along with him.

She wants to say something to comfort him, something cliché about Charlie living a great life and going to a better place, but she can't stomach the idea because all of this sucks. After all he and Peeta went through: the accident, the surgery, the rehab—only for him to be taken anyway? So instead she holds him as tightly as she can and hopes her actions say it all.

Eventually Peeta's body stops shaking, and his cries turn from sobs to sniffles and whimpers. He squeezes Katniss tightly one more time before finally releasing her. Both use the heel of their hands to clean their faces.

"Thank you,"

"Um, anytime. I mean...that's not what I…" She lets out an exasperated breath. "You're welcome," she adds before cringing at her words, but when she looks up to Peeta's face, she sees a ghost of a grin, and for the first time in her life she is happy for her awkwardness.

The redness of Peeta's eyes makes the blue of his irises pop with color, but as his vision moves to the drab gray building behind her they seem to cloud over.

"We should go back in," he says, then clears his throat, and without a word the pair walk back into the building.

They enter the room silently. Charlie is just as they left him, curled up on the thick dog bed, and he looks so peaceful that he could almost just be sleeping. Peeta falls into a chair in the room and puts his head in his hands. Katniss isn't sure what she should do or say, so she waits patiently for his direction. After a few minutes the door opens and Gale walks in.

"Oh good you're back. Peeta, take all the time you want. Kat, can I talk to you in private for a moment?"

"I'll be right back," she tells Peeta, who nods his head without lifting it, and then she follows Gale out back. The door has barely closed when Katniss begins to defend herself.

"I know I'm overstepping my bounds but…"

Gale waves at her dismissively. "No, it's not that. I'm glad you were here for him. That was hard for even me." He sighs.

"Then what is it?" She watches as Gale rubs the back of his neck before walking over to his open laptop, swiping the mouse pad with a finger, bringing it to life. He gestures to Katniss to come closer.

"I didn't even look at Charlie's file when he came in. I knew his history, but when I was sitting back here entering my notes, I noticed Charlie was here this afternoon."

"Wait, what?" Katniss turns the laptop so she can get a better look. She reads that Charlie presented with a swollen leg that was warm to the touch, but that the other surgical resident diagnosed it as overexertion from daily exercise, but Katniss knows those symptoms.

"A blood clot!" she gasps. "He came in with a blood clot this afternoon?" She thrusts her fingers into her hair, pulling at the roots. "Holy fuck!"

"I know." Gale says solemnly

"If Beetee had diagnosed him this afternoon..." Katniss sputters.

"I know."

"That dog would be…"

"I know."

"I'm going to kill that lazy motherfucker," Katniss growls.

"Well get in line. I already told Haymitch about it, and he's pissed. He said he was going to deal with it tomorrow."

"Good," Katniss says before scrubbing her face with her hands. "Ahhhhhhh!" she yells. "Ok." She lets her hands fall back down to her sides. "I'm going to go back in there."

"Kat!" Gale calls to her before she opens the door. She turns to look at him. "I'm not going to try and tell you what to do, but just be careful, ok?" She sighs, but smiles appreciatively at him before entering the room.

Peeta is still sitting in the same chair he was before, but this time he is just staring at Charlie's body. The sound of the door clicking behind Katniss causes him to look up at her. He looks tired and defeated, but he greets her with a small smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. He rubs his worn eyes and blows out a shaky breath.

"I think I'm going to go now," he tells her. She smiles and nods at him.

"I can walk you out," she offers.

"Thanks." His smile stretches a tiny bit wider.

After Peeta has made final arrangements for Charlie, Katniss follows him out to his car. When Peeta reaches his blue Jeep, he turns and leans against the car to face Katniss.

"Thank you." His voice drips with sincerity. "Thank you so much for being in there with me. You have no idea how much it helped." Katniss can't help but smile. They both stare at each other for a long moment. "I guess I should go."

"Ok." Katniss say as she tries to ignore the urge to ask him to stay. "If you need to talk, or if you need anything will you text me, please?"

"Yeah I will." He offers her another small smile, and for the moment it satisfies her.

"I'm so sorry, Peeta."

"I know you are. Charlie liked you a lot, and if I didn't know anything else about you that's all I would have to know." Katniss feels her heart begin to race at his words. "Well…" She watches him pull out his phone and light up the screen. "I'll talk to you later, Katniss."

"Drive safe, Peeta." And she watches him climb into the Jeep before she heads back into the building.

She has nothing else to do besides making entries to the medical file of the cat she operated on earlier, but it is taking her longer than usual because her thoughts keep going back to Peeta and Charlie and how horrible everything is. She wanted to do more to comfort him, but she knew it wasn't her place. She just hopes he made it home okay. She decides she will send him a text later just to be sure.

About an hour and a half later, she is finally heading to her Chevy Blazer. She wants nothing more than to go home, submerge herself in a hot tub and try to forget. As she goes to unlock her door, she fumbles with her keys and they drop to the ground. After reaching down to retrieve them she glances off to the right and spots Peeta's Jeep still in the same spot as before. She abandons her attempts to get into her own car and instead approaches his. When she is close enough, she finds Peeta in the driver's seat, his hands clutching the steering wheel while his head rests upon it.

Katniss raps on the window. Peeta sits up straight, obviously startled by the sound, but when he turns and sees it is her, he quickly rolls down the window.

"Hi," he greets.

"Hi," she answers. "You're still here."

"Yeah." He looks down almost as if he is ashamed, and guilt begins to bubble up in Katniss. "I just wasn't sure if I could make it home," he admits.

"Well can you call someone to come get you?"

"No… I mean I could probably call Delly, but she had a date tonight, so…"

"Is Lavinia travelling with the team?" Katniss bites down on her lip as she recalls the encounter she had with his girlfriend.

"Oh ah, probably, but… I wouldn't call her anyways. We.. broke up...for good this time…I broke up with her."

"Oh." Katniss can't decide how she feels about this revelation, but it seems inappropriate to give it much thought considering the circumstances "Well then will you let me drive you home? You know as thanks for helping me out the other night." Her mind automatically begins to replay the kiss in her head. She tried to push the images out of her head, but not quick enough and she finds herself glancing at his lips.

"I… I don't want to go there right now… between Lavinia, and my dad, and...Charlie," he chokes out. "I just can't be there right now."

"Ok, but you can't just sleep in your car all night."

Peeta chuckles softly. "I appreciate the concern, Katniss, but I will be fine."

"Will you at least come home with me and sleep on my couch? It's really comfy, and I don't have to work in the morning, so I could drive you back to your car whenever you wanted." Peeta looks at her skeptically. "Please, Peeta. I would feel so much better if I knew you were somewhere safe tonight." And though she can feel the embarrassment of admitting that to him begin to rise up her neck, she continues to stare at him sternly. Peeta looks almost bewildered as he stares back at her.

"Ok," he finally agrees. He pulls his keys out of the ignition, hops out of his Jeep and follows Katniss back to her Blazer.

The only sound made during the ride back to Katniss's loft is the low tones of the radio and the soft notes that tumble from her mouth as she sings along. Peeta spends the ride staring out the window, occasionally sighing and dragging a finger under his eye. His whole demeanor completely changed from the Peeta she has known up until tonight. All she can think as she drives is she would give anything to see him really smile again.

* * *

"Nice place," Peeta says with a small smile after he scans her apartment.

"Thanks." She walks into the kitchen and opens the refrigerator; her throat is dry from crying and she can imagine Peeta's must feel the same. "Do you want something to drink? Beer? Water? I have some apple cider too and some orange juice…"

"A beer would be great." He calls back to her. She reaches down and grabs two Blue Moons from the bottom shelf, twists the caps off and walks back into the other room, finding Peeta sitting on the couch. When he spots the beers in her hand, he grins.

"Thanks," he says as he reaches out to retrieve one dark glass bottle from her. Katniss clicks the neck of her bottle against his and plops down on the couch next to him. Her head hits the back of the couch, and her eyes shut automatically.

"I'm not keeping you up am I?" She hears Peeta ask sheepishly from her left. Her eyes fly open to look at him.

"Oh God, no." She takes a long sip of her beer. "It's just been a fucked-up night." Peeta nods in agreement.

"If you want to go to bed, it's fine. You have done more than enough, more than I deserve considering where we last left off…" Katniss waves at him to stop talking, her mouth full of beer. The last thing she wants to do is talk about that night. Tonight isn't about her and Peeta; it's about Peeta and Charlie. She swallows hastily and ends up coughing a bit.

"No, really I'm not tired, ok?"

"Ok," he agrees.

"How are you feeling?" she asks after a pause. "I mean...fuck...that's a stupid question… do you want to talk about it?"

"Um, no. I don't think I would be able to handle talk…" His voice fades away and he has to take a breath before continuing. "I'm fine," he adds. Katniss still leans back on the couch, but her head is turned so she can look at Peeta. He looks exhausted, but so is she; she just hopes it doesn't show.

They continue to stare at each other. Their blinks become steadily longer with each one they take. The last thing Katniss sees is the corner of Peeta's mouth turning up ever so slightly and a tear trickling down his cheek.

* * *

When Katniss wakes up, she is warm and snuggly. Her hands grip the familiar fleece blanket that is usually slung across the back of her couch. Her head rests on a brown throw pillow. She stretches her legs so that her toes press against the other end of the couch. She doesn't remember lying down or wrapping herself in the blanket. The only things she can recall was staring into Peeta's impossibly blue eyes, and then a vague dream about feeling his lips press against the skin of her forehead.

She sits up, and her bleary eyes scan the room until she finds Peeta on the floor to the right of her. His head rests on the other throw pillow, and he faces away from her. She gets off the couch and quietly pads over to him, bringing her blanket with her.

Even in sleep, Peeta looks troubled. Katniss's mouth turns down into a frown as she studies him. In this moment she is not able to decipher how she feels. It was easy to forget about their awkward past when there was something more important to worry about, but now the harsh daylight that spills in through her windows reveals unresolved issues and hurt feelings. She reminds herself that he broke up with his girlfriend.

"I've heard that before," she mumbles to herself followed by a sigh. Then she covers him with the blanket and walks into her kitchen. Right away she notices the two Blue Moon bottles in her sink and the dishes that filled her sink now sit drying in the dish rack.

She moves over to the stove when she spots what looks like a plate covered with aluminum foil. She glances around before pulling up the edges of the foil, revealing a pile of oatmeal raisin cookies.

"Holy shit." She gawks at the plate for a moment before taking the top cookie off the pile. She raises it to her mouth and lets her teeth sink into the moist and chewy cookie. A moan escapes her lips and her eyes roll into the back of her head when the flavor bursts over her taste buds.

"Oh god." She stuffs the rest of the cookie into her mouth, chews and then swallows. She groans. "Damn it, Peeta." She curses quietly. As if her feelings weren't already confusing enough he goes and does her dishes and bakes her cookies. She glances back into the living room and can just see the top of his wavy blond head. She wonders when he actually fell asleep.

Katniss goes to the refrigerator and retrieves the container of OJ. She pours herself a glass and quickly chugs it down. She's tense, and she knows a lot of it has to do with Peeta and what happened last night. And all she can think about is how one arrogant doctor's fatal mistake has resulted in Peeta sleeping on her floor without his dog. She starts clenching her fists and jaw in time as she recalls reading the blatant disregard of the symptoms in Charlie's file. The more she thinks about it the angrier she gets.

_How could he? _She grimaces when she thinks of Beetee's treatment of his patient. How could he have been so cavalier given the dog's age and history?

She glances up at the time display on her microwave. — 8:30 am — She doesn't have to work until two, but she knows that Beetee is already a couple of hours into his shift. She walks over to a drawer in her kitchen. She opens it and retrieves a small note pad and a black pen. She scribbles a note to Peeta, informing him that she is out getting breakfast and will be back soon. She then tapes it to the floor next to his softly snoring head, grabs her keys and walks out the door.

She storms into the hospital, not stopping to talk to anyone, and stalks into the surgery office and finds Finnick typing on his hospital-issued tablet. When he sees Katniss, his eyes widen and he jumps out of his seat.

"Woah Kitty Kat, you're looking a little ragged today." She ignores Finnicks attempt to distract her.

"Where is he?" Katniss growls. "Where is Beetee?"

"Kat, settle down its being taken care of."

"Is he with Haymitch?" she demands.

"Yes," Finnick says with a nod. Katniss turns on a heel and starts running towards her boss's office. She can hear Finnick yelling as he chases after her.

When she rounds the corner, she can see the door to Haymitch's office is almost all the way closed save for a crack. Katniss pushes the door open forcefully. She spots Haymitch at his desk, obviously startled by the intrusion and a worried Beetee, who looks white as a ghost when he glances over his shoulder. The sight of him sends Katniss into a rage.

"You fucking piece of shit!" she screeches as she lunges at him, only to be stopped mid-flight by arms encircling her waist. She tries to wriggle free, but it's no use; they are too strong. She looks up to see Finnick giving her a disappointed look, his face showing strain as she struggles against him.

"Odair, take her back to the surgery office," Haymitch barks. "and don't let her out of your sight until I'm done here." Finnick nods in response. "And—" He looks at Katniss. "—if you leave, sweetheart, you're fired." She feels her heart start thumping in her throat and lets her head hang low as she follows Finnick back to the office.

Either Finnick is too pissed at her or he can see she is in no mood to speak because neither utters a word for the following twenty minutes. Haymitch enters the office and gestures with his head for Finnick to leave, which he does dutifully. Haymitch sits in the chair next to a sulking Katniss.

"What were you thinking?" he asks her.

"I was thinking that Charlie Mellark died because of that asshole's gross negligence," she says defiantly, Her chin held up in the air. Haymitch sighs.

"Well it was being taken care of. He's been fired, but if you had managed to lay a hand on him that could have all gone up in smoke." She realizes he's right, and her stomach twists painfully. "I'm already down a resident, but if you ever act out like that again I will happily be down two."

Katniss nods in understanding. "I'm sorry." she mumbles. Haymitch doesn't respond, but instead regards her for a moment.

"I hear you and the owner are close."

Katniss eyes widen as she stares at her boss. "I...uh…"

Haymitch chuckles. "I don't care who you hang out with outside this building, sweetheart. I just wanted to know how he was doing."

"Well, he just put his dog to sleep, so how do you think he's doing?"

"Touché." Haymitch rubs the gray stubble on his chin. "Has he mentioned any kind of action he wants to take against the hospital?"

"What?"

"Is he thinking of suing the hospital?"

"He never said anything like that to me."

"Well, if you could keep tabs on that for me…"

"I'm not going to persuade him against taking any action he wants to." She takes a shuddering breath. "We failed him."

"I don't want you to persuade him to do anything. I just want you to let me know if he does plan to do something." Katniss shrugs in response, and Haymitch gives her the smallest of smiles. "Take the rest of the day off, and come back tomorrow acting less like a firecracker." Katniss nods and walks out of the office.

* * *

Katniss walks through the door to her apartment with a large brown bag stained with grease. She finds Peeta sitting on the couch, just staring off, the blanket and pillows returned to their normal places.

"I'm sorry that took so long," she apologizes. Peeta snaps out of his trance and looks to her and smiles.

"No it's fine, I'm just glad you're back." She smiles in return.

"I brought breakfast." She places the bag on her kitchen table. "Not from Dunks," she adds with a grin. Peeta gives her a small chuckle as he walks towards her.

Katniss begin unloading the bag of its contents, pulling out one styrofoam container after another. "This is from some hole in the wall, but it's the best hangover food ever. I figured it was appropriate." Peeta nods in agreement. They both fill plates with eggs, bacon, sausage, toast and hashbrowns, before plopping down into seats at the table and digging in. They are quiet for the first few bites.

"Thanks for doing my dishes," Katniss breaks through the silence. "And for making those cookies." Peeta looks away bashfully.

"Did you like them?" he asks quietly.

"They are delicious," she groans, causing Peeta to smile.

"I felt like dick raiding your cabinets for ingredients, but I couldn't sleep." Katniss nods in understanding.

"You should have woken me up."

Peeta shakes his head. "Nah, you've done way too much for me already," he adds before focusing on his food once again.

Once they are both finished, they move to the couch. Neither one seems to know what to do next. They don't speak, or even look at each other, but then Peeta sighs.

"Right before I found Charlie...Lavinia and I were screaming at each other, that's when we broke up. But do you think that….?" He takes a large gulp of air. "Do you think that's what caused his….stroke...Did he get too upset?" Katniss is pretty sure her heart has shattered into a million pieces in her chest.

"I don't think it had anything to do with it," she tries to assure him.

"How about me overexercising him? We had just seen the doctor that afternoon and he told me I was overdoing it on our walks and that's why his leg was swollen. Did that cause it?" Katniss can feel tears prick the corners of her eyes as she listens to this man try to find a way to blame himself for his dog's death.

"No you did just fine. You gave Charlie the best care possible." Her mind is racing over what Beetee did and what Haymitch said.

"I had to have done something, Katniss." His voice laced with frustration. "You said yourself that he was recovering better than you expected. So I had to have done something wrong." She barely catches his next line which he mumbles quietly. "I always fuck everything up." Katniss can feel a sob lodged in her chest. She turns to Peeta and grasps him at the shoulders.

"You didn't do anything wrong." She looks him dead in the eye. "Charlie had a blood clot; that's why his leg was swollen. Those can commonly happen in the first month after surgery. You did everything right." At first Peeta looks at her in disbelief, then in relief, then his eyes narrow.

"So when I brought him in yesterday afternoon that's what the problem was?" His anger makes Katniss bite her lip. She nods. "But he told me it was from walking him too long."

"He was wrong," Katniss chokes out just as tears begin to spill from her eyes. "He completely fucked up."

"So if he had….then Charlie..." Katniss can't manage to answer him, but she can tell he knows the answer.

"The doctor, he was fired today because of it, but.." She takes a deep breath. "If you wanted to sue you could."

_What the fuck are you doing, Katniss?_

Katniss watches as Peeta's jaw clenches and his eyes darken in anger. His lips pucker up and he looks past her. Katniss is sure he is going to lose his shit any second now, but just a moment later his face softens, and he rubs his eyes while sighing in defeat.

"Will suing bring Charlie back?" he asks softly. Katniss doesn't answer, but she's sure she's not supposed to. He looks to her. "And he's fired right? I don't want to cause any problems for the hospital, or…" He lifts his hand and uses his thumb to clear the tears from her cheek. "You."

Katniss pulls away almost immediately, letting Peeta's hand fall to his lap. She looks away, not knowing what she should be doing in this situation, not sure what feelings are real, and what are just because of the high stress situation. She momentarily regrets bringing him here, but mentally scolds herself because she knows it was the right thing to do. She must be silent too long because she can see Peeta shift uncomfortably next to her.

"Um, do you think I could get a lift back to my car?" Katniss nods hastily and jumps up off the couch.

"Give me a second," she barely whispers before walking into her bedroom and locking the door behind her. She sinks down against the door until her butt hits the floor, and she throws her face into her hands.

She likes Peeta—really likes him, this much she knows, but everything is wrong. Between his ex-girlfriend and Charlie and the fact her heart still hurts when she thinks about their kiss, she's not sure if starting anything with him is a good idea right now, but she is certain that after she drops him off at his car she will never get another chance.

She wishes she could talk to Prim right now and ask her advice. Hell she would even take crude advice from Johanna right now, but she's left her phone in the other room. Without thought she slams the back of her head out of frustration into the door causing a thud to reverberate around her.

"Are you ok?" She hears Peeta call to her a moment later.

"Ah, yeah." Her cheeks burn as she scrambles to her feet, takes a deep breath and walks out the door.

She sees him watching her with concern, his mouth pulled down into a frown. His blue eyes glassy and worn. He drags his fingers through his slightly greasy and disheveled blond waves. It is then she makes her decision.

"Peeta...um." She begins chewing her lip. "I...um… I have today off so I was wondering if maybe you… I mean only if you want to...and don't feel like you have to say yes, it's totally cool if you don't want to… seriously it won't hurt my…"

"Katniss," he says gently. "Just ask me." She can feel her hands shake.

"Do you maybe want to spend the day with me?" She holds her breath. His eyes widen for a moment, then relax almost immediately.

"I'd like that very much," he says with a smile.

* * *

**Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! **

**Just a note: I probably won't be updating this or Treason until after PiP next week... But there will be so many amazing fics to read you will all easily forget about my silly stories... I do plan on participating though...So keep an eye out for my everlark tale based on the envy prompt! :)**

**Thank you so much for reading... I hope you continue to read/enjoy this story... You are all the best!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey everyone! Thank you so much for sticking with this fic despite the horrible stuff I have done! You are all the greatest!**

**Special thanks to Court81981 and Pookieh for their friendship, support and attention to detail! :)**

**I'm sorry this took forever... Between PiP and preparing for my Bf's wedding I've been a little scatterbrained! :(**

**And that's about it...So...**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Can I use your shower?"

"Oh, what?" Katniss is startled by the question. After asking Peeta if he wanted to spend the day with her, and him accepting, they had just been kind of staring at each other.

"Uh." Peeta looks down bashfully as he rubs the back of his neck. "I hate to ask; it's just I'm feeling kind of gross right now, and I can't imagine I smell any better." Katniss thinks he smells like brown sugar, but she decides to keep that to herself.

"Um, yeah, of course." She gestures for him to follow her, and then leads him to the full bathroom off of her bedroom. She kicks a pair of green underwear into the corner before flicking on the light. "So the towels are in that closet there, and I am pretty sure there is a brand new toothbrush in the drawer so feel free to use it if you want."

"Thanks," he responds with a shy smile.

"Um, I could see if I have any t-shirts big enough for you to wear if you want. I may even have a pair of gray fleece pants that might fit if you too."

"No, these clothes are fine, thank you though."

"Not a problem," she says before nervously chuckling. She locks eyes with him for a few moments, then tears her eyes away. "Um, I'll leave you to it."

"Ok. Thanks, Katniss." She smiles at him then leaves, shutting the door behind her.

She busies herself for the next 20 minutes by going through her mail, snacking on the cookies Peeta made and putting a can of wet food into Buttercup's dish. She hasn't seen the cat at all, but assumes he is under her bed where he always hides. She just hopes he doesn't try to swipe at Peeta's ankles like he does hers.

When Peeta emerges from her room, his hair is damp and his eyes are red, but he looks happy to see her, so she smiles back at him.

"I'm going to take a quick shower and then we can go and do whatever," she explains. Peeta nods, and Katniss scurries off to her room, closing the door behind her.

She grabs clothes from her dresser and places them on the bed before stripping down and walking into the bathroom. She turns the dial to hot and lets the scalding water steam up the bathroom before she steps in. She fights the urge to turn the temperature down and instead lets the hot water beat down onto her skin as she takes deep steam-filled breaths and tries to clear her head.

Her mind, however, has different ideas when she comes to the sudden realization that Peeta, just minutes ago, was naked in her shower. She lets out a soft moan when the image of him washing down _every_ part of him with her coconut scented body wash floods her brain and she wonders if she could smell it on him while she had him in her…

_Damn it, Everdeen!_ She mentally scolds herself before turning down the water temperature and continuing her shower, ignoring the illicit thoughts swirling around her head.

She exits the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around her head and squeaks out loud when she sees her bedroom door is opened, not much, but enough that if someone were to walk by it they could see all of her. She thinks she closed it all the way. She crouches down, scrambles over to her bed, and snatches her clothes before darting back to the bathroom. She dresses quickly, tying her wet hair into a sloppy braid. When she finally walks out of her room, she stops short when she finds Buttercup curled up on Peeta's lap, purring away while his fingers run through his orange fur, a small smile on his face as he looks down at the normally ornery feline.

_At least the explains the open door, _she thinks to herself, as she is pretty sure that cat could manage to get a safe door open.

"Hey," she says softly, not wanting to disturb the peace between Peeta and the cat. He looks up and offers her a broader smile.

"I didn't know you had a cat." His fingers idly scratch behind Buttercup's ears. Katniss can hear him purr from where she stands.

"I don't." Peeta looks confused. "Buttercup—" She gestures towards the cat. "—is my sister's." Peeta nods in understanding. "And until this moment I've never seen him like anyone besides her."

"Really?" Peeta asks her in disbelief. "He just kind of hopped up here."

"He must know you're an animal person." Katniss offers. Peeta chuckles.

"Katniss, you're a vet. I think that automatically makes you an animal person."

Katniss shakes her head at him. "No it's different. Some people just exude kindness and I think animals can pick up on that so they are more attracted to those people."

"You think I exude kindness?" he says with a small toothy grin.

"Ah." She looks down as she smiles and feels her cheeks heat up. "I mean I guess you're nice enough, I'm just telling you what the cat sees."

"Oh, I see," he teases. Katniss rolls her eyes at him.

"So what would you like to do today?" she asks, changing the subject. Peeta releases a heavy sigh.

"I don't know," he says with a shrug. "I just know I need to do something. I just need to move. I feel like I am crawling out of my skin." Katniss can see his hands shake.

"Ok," she smiles warmly at him. "I think I have an idea."

* * *

Katniss shifts the car into park in the parking lot of the Bunker Hill Museum in Charlestown. She smiles excitedly at him.

"Have you ever been here before?" she asks when she turns the car off.

He shrugs. "Um, maybe on a school trip when I was a kid."

"Well come on." She gestures for him to get out of the car, and the pair walk across the street towards the granite obelisk that towers before them.

When they reach the entrance, Katniss gives Peeta a moment to read the bronze-colored plaque mounted next to the doorway, then she walks inside and straight towards the stairs. She glances over her shoulder to make sure Peeta is behind her before she begins moving up the stairs quickly. After about a dozen steps she hears Peeta call from behind her.

"What's the rush?"

"You wanted to be active...so…" she says as she continues to bounce up the stone steps. She can hear Peeta let out a breathy chuckle, but he doesn't say anything else, and their winded breathing is the only sound they make.

By the time they are nearing the top, all Katniss can hear is the sound of her racing heartbeat in her ears. When they reach the observation tower, the two of them lean against the nearest wall and take short laborious breaths. Once Katniss is able to catch her breath she smiles at Peeta.

"How do you feel?"

"Like I'm dying," he gasps back, but returns her grin.

"Your heart will thank you," she chuckles "But _how_ are you feeling?" She continues to probe. Peeta drags his hands through his hair.

"I don't know...lighter I guess….Like I'm not feeling anything right now." Katniss nods in understanding.

"I come here when I'm stressed or upset, and I run up those stairs and in the end I feel just like you're feeling now."

"And that's why you brought me here?" he says, closing the distance between them. Katniss bites her lip and nods her head.

Peeta stands so close to her, a reverent look on his face as he takes her in. If this had been a normal date, or a scene from a romcom, then this would be the moment where their lips would press together, but this is anything but the normal beginnings of a typical romance, and so almost at the same time they pull their eyes away.

Peeta's eyes wander to one of the small windows in the observation area and walks over to look out it. A moment later, once Katniss stops feeling dizzy over her thoughts of kissing Peeta she joins him.

"So what do you want to do now?" she asks after a few minutes of silence.

"Oh, I don't know," he sighs. "I like it here, so maybe just stay here...you know forever or something like that."

Katniss snorts out a laugh. "Ok." She looks at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Ok," he echoes triumphantly then glances towards the stairwell. "How many stairs?

"294." Peeta whistles through his teeth at the number. "But don't worry, it's not as bad going down," Katniss adds causing Peeta to laugh out loud. When he stops, he smiles at her.

"I know I've said this a million times, but thank you so much, for everything. I don't slightly deserve how nice you've been to me." Katniss just shakes her head at him.

"You keep saying that, but it's not like you haven't helped me out before." She looks away suddenly feeling shy. "That's what friends do, right? Help each other out?" She gazes up at him sheepishly through her eyelashes.

"And that's what we are? Friends?" His voice is an octave lower than usual, his eyes a slightly darker blue in the stone room.

"I mean… I'd like that… um… would you?" She suddenly feels her heart thump against her chest; as irrational as she knows her anxiety is, there is just something about Peeta Mellark that makes her feel off balance.

"I'd like that very much," he answers before looking out the small window again.

Katniss joins him once more, their hands just grazing, and as much as she would love to tangle her fingers with his she restrains herself, not wanting to step over the boundaries they have finally established between them.

They share a pizza at a place in the North End where they talk about her sister's internship in Africa, and Peeta being a week away from finishing his graphic design courses at Mass Art, and when Peeta discovers he has missed her birthday—which was close to a week ago—he vows to make her a whole red velvet cake as soon as possible. Then after a walk down Newbury Street and frozen yogurt at Orange Leaf its early evening, and they make their way back to her car.

Peeta asks to be dropped off at his car, but when Katniss pulls up next to it and turns off her Blazer, he doesn't move to get out.

"I had a nice time with you today," he says.

"Yeah I had fun," she adds.

"Let's do it again soon, ok?" His voice is hopeful.

"Yeah." She chews on her lip for a second. "This week is busy for me though, and I don't know how many more shifts I'll have to take since Beetee…" She can see Peeta's posture go rigid in the seat next to her so she drops it immediately. "Um… I should be free Thursday night though."

"Oh, I'm busy," Peeta replies hastily.

"Oh...um...ok...how about Sunday?"

"Yeah, let's hang out Sunday."

"Ok, cool...it's a date...I mean… ahh...you know what I mean." Katniss can feel her cheeks burn, but Peeta just smiles kindly at her.

"I look forward to it." He gives her his lazy sexy grin and then gets out of the car. He has just opened his driver side door when Katniss rolls down the passenger side window to call to him.

"Peeta." He looks through the car at her. "Um, if you need anything...like to talk about things...you know….if you need someone to talk to...I'm here...ok?"

"Ok." he says softly, giving her a sad smile. "I'll talk to you later, Katniss."

"Bye, Peeta." She gives him a small wave before turning the key in her ignition and driving away, keeping the image of his car in her rearview mirror as long as possible.

* * *

For the next three days Peeta stays true to his word, texting her everyday, which always turns into a day-long discussion. On Wednesday night, she is about to fall asleep when she hears the soft vibration of her phone on her end table. She picks it up and can't help the goofy grin that pulls on her lips or her hitched breath when she finally reads it.

_'I wish tomorrow was Sunday. Good night Katniss.' _

_'Good night' _She quickly texts back and then falls into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

She doesn't hear from him all day Thursday, but he told her he was busy so she doesn't think much of it. On Friday she still hears nothing. Midday she sends a quick text.

_'How's your day going?'_

But she never gets anything back. She doesn't get a response on Saturday either, and by Sunday morning, she is worried. They have plans that day so she decides its ok to give him a call, but it goes straight to voicemail. When she hangs up she has a nervous lump in her stomach.

She tries to busy herself for the rest of the morning, but as the afternoon creeps along and she still hasn't heard from him, she starts to get anxious. When 3:00 pm rolls around, she picks up her phone to look up the number to Mellarks' and when she finds it, she hits call. She chews her thumbnail nervously as the phone begins to ring. After a few times she hears the call connect.

"Mellarks!" A voice says happily on the other line.

"Um... is Peeta available?"

"No," she says right away. "I'm sorry, he isn't in today."

"Oh, ok, thanks." Katniss tries not to let the disappointment she feels come through as she speaks.

"Is this Katniss?" the woman asks. "This is Delly."

"Oh hi, Delly. Yeah it's Katniss. Um, will you tell Peeta I called?"

"Sure no problem." Katniss is not sure if she is imagining the edge in her voice.

"Oh ok, well thanks, bye." Katniss takes the phone away from her ear to end the call when she hears Delly call out.

"Katniss wait!"

She pulls the phone back quickly. "Delly?"

" Ah shit! Can you come by the coffee house?" Her stomach knots at the unmistakable sound of panic in Delly's voice. "I need your help."

* * *

Peeta can hear low murmurs coming from the other room. When he pulls the blanket down to expose his ear, he thinks the sounds he hears belong to Delly and Katniss as they walk around his apartment. He glances over at his long-since-dead cell phone and wonders how many calls and texts he's missed.

"How long has he been in bed?" Katniss asks in a whisper just loud enough for him to hear. He can't make out Delly's response, but he knows the answer. Four days ago was his father's first birthday since he passed, and Peeta has only left his bed a handful of times since then. Normally, in the past, when he got too deep into his own head, he had Charlie to force him to leave the house, but Peeta doesn't have him anymore.

A few moments later his bedroom door creaks open, letting enough light into his cave of a room that it makes him want to hiss out loud. He can hear Katniss pad towards the bed, but he doesn't see her until she's kneeling in front of his face.

"I was worried about you," she says softly, her eyes reflecting the truth of her words. "I...I thought maybe you were having second thoughts about hanging out today.

"I'm sorry," he mumbles, as he feels a lump begin to form in his throat and his eyes begin to sting. He doesn't want her to worry, but more importantly he doesn't understand why she does, why he matters to her at all, to anyone. She doesn't respond to him and instead pushes a piece of his hair off of his face.

"How often does this happen, Peeta?" she asks with no judgement in her tone. He isn't sure how to answer. Sometimes it happens a lot; sometimes he can go months without an episode, but what does it matter when just once is too much? When he doesn't answer, she sighs sadly.

"Will you let me help you?"

"W..what?" he stammers.

"I want to know if you will let me help you." She offers him a small smile. "I have the name and number for a good….oh god, Peeta, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry." Her words bring attention to the uncontrollable tears that now stream down his face.

"No…it's not that…it's just…," he rubs his eyes with his hand. "No one has ever asked me that before." He can see Katniss's bottom lip quiver slightly before her face relaxes again. She moves over and sits down at the foot of his bed, tapping the space next to her.

"Come sit with me," she commands. He complies, but his muscles ache from the lack of use over the past few days, and he gets a sudden light-headed feeling when he sits up too quickly. He is uncomfortably aware of the fact he hasn't showered in a while and that he probably smells disgusting, but if Katniss notices she doesn't let on. She even moves closer to him and takes his hand into hers, letting them rest on her leg. If he were feeling normal, he would revel in the feel of his fingers entwined with hers, and his cock would probably embarrassingly react to how his hand rests on her upper thigh right now, but as it is, he feels like he can barely keep his eyes open.

"I have a number of a therapist that deals with grief counselling along with other stuff; he's in the same practice as my own therapist." Katniss takes a deep breath. "Delly told me about your dad, and how he..." She trails off but its enough for Peeta to feel fresh tears spring to his eyes.

"It was his birthday...on Thursday." His voice is so hoarse.

"I'm sorry, Peeta." She squeezes his hand and lets her head fall to his shoulder. He can smell the vanilla scent of her shampoo in her hair, and he leans his cheek against her head wanting to get closer to it.

"You asked me how often this happens, but it's happened on and off my whole life...just more since...and usually Charlie could..." He can no longer speak past the lump in his throat and instead lets out a quick shaky breath.

"Can I give you a hug?" Katniss asks in a whisper. Peeta nods his head, but doesn't speak; it seems to be enough and Katniss pulls her head away. She turns her body towards him and quickly wraps her arms around his neck and Peeta practically collapses into her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her as close to him as he can get her before nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck, his lips resting against the delicate skin there. They hold each other for a very long time.

"Peeta," Katniss begins, "I'm here for you, ok? I want you to know that. I have been where you are, swimming in this hopeless unending darkness. I know how alone you feel, but I want you to know you aren't alone, ok? I'll help in any way I can."

He's never had anyone say this to him before. When he got this way when he was a teenager, his father would simply bake him something delicious or give him all the cash in his wallet just to cheer him up. And Delly—who is probably his closest friend—knows about all of his baggage, but she gets anxious whenever Peeta becomes depressed, and anytime he would talk to her about anything, it would usually end with Peeta having to console a sobbing Delly. And of course there was Lavinia, who thought the best way to approach these issues was to not to do it at all.

So for her to tell him she wanted to help, that she would be there for him, that she understands is all too much for him, and he knows he is going to start crying again.

"I miss Charlie." He chokes out against her skin before his body begins shaking and new tears spill down his face. She holds him tighter.

"I know," is all she says, and in this moment that's all he wants.

It's enough

* * *

**Thank you so much for reading! **

**Come visit me on Tumblr: streetlightlove1 :)**


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